Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Carbone keen to return
Sydney FC has confirmed Benito Carbone could be back in Sydney colours soon with both parties at the table discussing financials of the pending deal.
Carbone scored twice in three games for the defending Hyundai A-League champions before his four game guest stint came to an end with a hamstring injury.
The return of Carbone would be a welcome boost for underfire coach Terry Butcher who this week had his job confirmed until the end of the season, despite being on a two year contract.
Hollywood star and part-owner Anthony LaPaglia tried to have Butcher sacked at a board meeting.
posted by Footballer at Carbone keen to return
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Sydney draw against Perth Glory
The pressure will continue to mount on embattled coach Terry Butcher after Sydney FC was held to a 1-1 draw against Perth Glory FC at Aussie Stadium on Sunday.
David Zdrilic looked to have sent Sydney on the road to a much needed win but a second half strike by substitute Luka Glavas ensured a point for the visitors.
The defending Hyundai A-League champion took the lead when Zdrilic headed home from close range.
While Butcher hailed the 1-1 draw as amagnificent fighting effort by his undermanned team, the sad truth is his men have failed to win for the fourth week on the trot.
Sydney FC 1 (Zdrilic 15)
Perth Glory 1 (Glavas 75)
Crowd: 12,316 at Aussie Stadium
posted by Footballer at Sydney draw against Perth Glory
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Queensland Roar held by Central Coast Mariners
The Queensland Roar FC moved into second place on the Hyundai A-League ladder after being held to a 1-1 draw by Central Coast Mariners FC at Suncorp Stadium.
The Mariners took a shock lead through Damian Mori before Brazilian import Reinaldo headed home after the break.
Mori netted his fourth goal of the campaign in the 21st minute when his left foot shot found a way under the outstretched arms of Queendland keeper Liam Reddy and nestling in the far corner.
Queensland hit back four minutes after the restart with Reinaldo jumping highest to head home a corner.
Queensland Roar 1 (Reinaldo, 49)
Central Coast Mariners 1 (Mori, 21)
Crowd: 13,727 at Suncorp Stadium
posted by Footballer at Queensland Roar held by Central Coast Mariners
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Saturday, October 28, 2006
Newcastle Jets shock Adelaide United
A cracking strike by Nick Carle gave the Newcastle Jets a shock 2-1 win over Adelaide United at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Friday night.
After Carl Veart had blasted a penalty over the bar, Carle picked up a loose ball on the edge of his box and set off on what would prove to be a dramatic winner when his left foot shot swerved into the far corner leaving Adelaide keeper Robert Bajic with no chance.
An expensive miss by Veart who had earlier cancelled out Vaughn Coveney's 26th minute strike with a converted penalty in the 37th minute after Paul Okon pulled back Shengqing Qu.
Jade North was sent off at the death after he cleared the ball over the bar with his arm, leading to Veart's penalty miss and a third straight win for Gary Van Egmond's men.
Newcastle Jets 2 (Coveny 26, Carle 90)
Adelaide United 1 (Veart 37)
Crowd: 10,895 at EnergyAustralia Stadium
posted by Footballer at Newcastle Jets shock Adelaide United
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Melbourne Victory too strong for New Zealand Knights
Runaway Hyundai A-League leaders Melbourne Victory turned on the power in the second half of their Friday night clash against the New Zealand Knights FC spanking the hosts 4-0 with three goals coming in the second stanza.
Ernie Merrick's men are cruising to their first minor round title thanks to their striking duo of Archie Thompson and Daniel Allsop.
They are proving to be the most feared partnership in the Hyundai A-League this season with both getting their name on the scorers sheet again on Friday night.
The Knights tried hard but a difference in class proved to be a telling factor after Brazilian import Fred gave the visitors a 1-0 halftime lead.
Melbourne Victory 4 (Fred 8, Thompson 57, Caceres 59, Allsop 71)
New Zealand Knights 0Crowd: 2357 at North Harbour Stadium
posted by Footballer at Melbourne Victory too strong for New Zealand Knights
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Thursday, October 26, 2006
Hyundai A-League week 10
week 10 of the Australian A-League kicks off tonight with the Melbourne Victory a short priced favourite to continue on their winning way when they take on the New Zealand Knights in Auckland. The Victory bounced back from their first loss of the season with a hard fought win over Sydney FC last week.
Sydney FC has problems of their own with coach Terry Butcher under pressure to retain his job. The former England international has his D-Day on Sunday when Perth Glory and Sydney meet at Aussie Stadium. Hollywood star Anthony LaPaglia has already tried to get Butcher sacked last week and nothing short of victory against the Glory will see Butcher remain at the helm of the defending champions.
Adelaide United tackle a rejuvenated Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday night. The Jets have posted two straight wins since appointing Gary Van Egmond as senior coach. Their bubble could burst here though with Adelaide welcoming back marquee player Shengqing Qu.
Queensland Roar FC will be looking to boucne back to the winners list after being upset by the Jets last week. They take on the Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium in a clash that could well prove season defining for both clubs with 11 games of the regular season remaining.
Tips:Melbourne
Adelaide
Queensland
Sydney
posted by Footballer at Hyundai A-League week 10
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SBS International awarded FIFA brodacasting rights
FIFA awarded the broadcasting rights in Korea for all FIFA competitions from 2007 to 2014, including the two FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014, to broadcasting group SBS International.
The agreement comprises all main audiovisual rights over both free and pay TV, as well as radio and mobile platforms. Furthermore, SBS International is committed to ensuring widespread access across the Korean peninsula.
This is the first deal resulting from FIFA's appointment of Singapore-based Football Media Services as its sales representative for key Asian markets.
The broadcast package also includes the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is being staged in South Korea next year from August 18 to September 9. Football continues to enjoy immense popularity in South Korea, which was fuelled by the country co-hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan.
posted by Footballer at SBS International awarded FIFA brodacasting rights
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FIFA Emergency Committee suspends Kenya Football Federation
The FIFA Emergency Committee suspended the Kenya Football Federation (KFF), having determined that the agreements signed by the KFF in order to resolve the situation of Kenyan football have ignored by members of the Kenyan football family.
The Emergency Committee approved the proposal made on 18 October by the FIFA Associations Committee to suspend the KFF.
The situation of the Kenyan Football Federation has raised concerns several times in the past, and in June 2004 it led to a suspension of the KFF and the installation of the above-mentioned Normalisation Committee. The situation was analysed again by the FIFA Associations Committee and the FIFA Executive Committee in 2005, and the KFF was informed about the possibility of another suspension being imposed if the problems in Kenyan football were not resolved.
Noting that these agreements had not been respected and that the situation in Kenyan football had deteriorated with disagreements between the top clubs and the prospect of two parallel leagues in Kenya, the FIFA President sent a letter to the KFF on 21 September 2006 setting a final deadline of 18 October to provide urgent confirmation, not only in writing but in acts, that the KFF would fully implement the agreement signed in Cairo.
Having observed that these agreements have not been respected or only implemented to a very limited degree, the Associations Committee recommended the suspension of the KFF on 18 October.
posted by Footballer at FIFA Emergency Committee suspends Kenya Football Federation
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Sunday, October 22, 2006
Victory march continues
The Melbourne Victory quickly bounced back from their first loss of the season to snare all three points against an injury riddled Sydney FC on Saturday night. The Victory overcame a 1-0 deficit at the break after Sydney took the lead through Steve Corica in the eighth minute.
A second half double by Archie Thompson who netted in the 50th and 73rd minutes completed a stunning comeback that saw Sydney drop their first home game in 13 months.
Sydney's chances weren't helped by the loss of both Corica and Mark Milligan to hamstring injuries.
The action got underway on Friday night with the Central Coast Mariners posting a 2-1 win over a disappointing Perth Glory. The win leaves the Mariners just one point behind fourth placed Sydney FC as the battle for a top 4 finals place begins to hot up.
The Queensland Roar FC conceded their first goal at home in going down 1-0 to the Newcastle Jets after a first half strike by Vaughan Coveny. In their only attack of note in the opening 45 minutes, Coveny hit a well timed shot past Tom Willis from 18 yards which the keeper made a mess of in attempting to save, failing to get a hand on the ball.
The round ended with Adelaide United FC posting a 4-2 win over the New Zealand Knights at Hindmarsh Stadium. An entertaining game came to live in the second half with the Kiwis throwing caution to the wind as they chased a result after trailling 2-0 at the break.
Adelaide extended the lead to 3-0 before the Knights hit back with two goals only for Socceroo Travis Dodd to seal Adelaide's third consecutive win with an 84th minute header.
Central Coast Mariners 2 (Pondeljak 2, 87)
Perth Glory 1 (Despotovski 57)
Crowd: 8,496 at Bluetongue Stadium
Sydney FC 1 (Corica 8)
Melbourne Victory 2 (Thompson 50, 73)
Crowd: 20,881 at Aussie Stadium
Queensland Roar 0Newcastle Jets 1 (Coveny 35)
Crowd: 16,061 at Suncorp Stadium
Adelaide United 4 (Burns 23, Veart 36, Burns 56, Dodd 84)
New Zealand Knights 2 (Hickey 65, Van Dommele 72og)
Crowd: 11,600 at Hindmarsh Stadium
posted by Footballer at Victory march continues
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Saturday, October 21, 2006
South Africa 2010
The organising committee behind the 2010 FIFA World Cup made a statement saying that the costs of staging the World Cup event have skyrocketed from 2.3 billion Rand ($303,670 million) to 12 billion Rand ($1.58 billion).
The price has risen due to the decision to build five new soccer specific stadiums rather than convert existing rugby venues, as originally planned.
South Africa will host the first ever World Cup to take place on the African continent in 2010.
posted by Footballer at South Africa 2010
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Friday, October 20, 2006
Liverpool – Manchester Derby
Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool head to Old Trafford on Sunday for this week’s match of the round when they go head to head with Sir Alex Fergusons top of the table Manchester United.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be fit for this all action affair against United who will be keen to reclaim top spot from Chelsea who are expected to gain maximum points from their clash against Portsmouth at The Bridge.
Liverpool and United struggle to play out draws in recent times with only the one being played out in their last 15 clashes. United has won 3 of the last five clashes at Old Trafford and boast a 38-15 lead in the head to head battles at the Theatre of Dreams.
If you fancy Rafa’s Red’s to cause an upset, their last three wins at Old Trafford have all been 1-0.
posted by Footballer at Liverpool – Manchester Derby
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United send Kosi to counselling
Amusingly, Adelaide United chiefs have decided to send coach John Kosmina to counselling after he copped a six game ban.
The Red boss was found guilty of violent conduct and banned him from the technical area for four A-League matches by the FFA after he was knocked over by Victory captain Kevin muscat.
Kosmina retaliated by grabbing Muscat by the throat.
Adelaide United president Dario Fontanrosa said, "grabbing a guy around the throat is a serious matter".
He is obviously someone who has played one or two games during his lifetime.
I can’t believe the over-reaction to this incident by some people. Mr Fontanrosa would be one of them.
The club believes that counselling would better prepare Kosmina to handle any situation or issue that may arise in a future game.
Are they kidding? And, they have the audacity to say they support him.
posted by Footballer at United send Kosi to counselling
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Carbone Dumped
Sydney FC has decided to pull the plug on any deal with Benito Carbone claiming the two parties could not come to a financial agreement to extend his stay beyond the four week guest stint both parties had already agreed too.
Earlier in the week, MRI scans revealed that Carbone had a grade two hamstring tear after being injured in the 3-1 loss to Central Coast last Friday.
Negotiations then broke down for Carbone to become Sydney’s marquee player despite scoring two goals in three games for the defending A-League champion.
posted by Footballer at Carbone Dumped
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Kosmina cops 4 game ban
Adelaide United coach John Kosmina was suspended for six matches for violent conduct, with two of those suspended on condition of future good behaviour.
It was the biggest punishment handed out in the A-League's short history as the Football Federation Australia disciplinary panel moved to stamp out a repeat of the conflict between player and official.
The Reds boss was banned after he was bowled over by Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat. Kosmina retaliated by bouncing back to his feet and grabbing Muscat by the throat.
How the FFA can allow Muscat to escape punishment for his role is beyond belief.
There was absolutely no need for Muscat to make contact with Kosmina. All he had to do was turn to referee Matthew Breeze and ask can we add on some time for time wasting, which Kosmina wasn;t doing, or ask his boss to lodge a complaint to the FFA about Kosmina’s actions.
The fact he decided he would have a “free shot” at bowling over Kosmina is simply unacceptable, unless of course you are at the FFA.
posted by Footballer at Kosmina cops 4 game ban
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A-League weekend wrap round 8
The Newcastle Jets FC scored their first win of the season on Friday night to get round eight of the Hyundai A-League underway. The Jets gave interim coach Gary Van Egmond the perfect start since taking over from Nick Theodorakopolis with a 3-0 win over the hapless New Zealand Knights FC at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
A brace by Damien Mori gave the Central Coast Mariners FC a surprise 3-1 victory over Sydney FC who took a first half lead through Italian import Benito Carbone.
Carbone curled home a stunning 12th minute free kick before defender Paul O'Grady headed the Mariners level in the 39th minute. Mori bagged a brace in the second half scoring in both the 52nd and 89th minutes.
The Queensland Roar FC posted a good win over in the West when they came back from an early setback to down the Perth Glory FC 2-1 at members Equity Stadium.
Adelaide ended the Melbourne Victory run with a 1-0 win. This game will be best remembered for the “incident” between Adelaide coach John Kosmina and Kevin Muscat.
The game started at a frenetic pace with Ross Aloisi kicking an opponent in the opening minute. Archie Thompson then went over the ball less than a minute later. Both players should have seen red.
While the coming together of Kosmina and Muscat late in the second half grabbed all the headlines, these two challenges were nothing short of disgraceful.
Both players, Thompson and Aloisi should be ashamed of themselves for being responsible for such crap, as for the referee, Matthew Breeze who finds the f word so offensive yet fails to have the intestinal fortitude to punish players who commit sins on the football field, the game would be better off without his officiating.
posted by Footballer at A-League weekend wrap round 8
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Thursday, October 12, 2006
New deal for Neill
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes will make another attempt to keep his captain at Ewood Park when Lucas Neill returns from helping the Socceroos defeat Bahrainin 2-0 in their Asian Cup qualifier.
Hughes said, "Clearly we want him to stay, and we've offered him an improved contract this week, which he's not had a chance to look at, so there's still work to be done."
"Ideally, we would like Lucas to be signed up for the next three to four years. But that won't happen in the short term."
"We think the right decision is for him to stay here and be a major player for us. We have to make sure Lucas realises that fact,"
"He is an important part of the team and the squad and he has a lot of qualities, both on and off the field."
"We feel we're a good club, we're going places and he can be a major player here."
"If there are other options out there for him, then he may not have that standing at another club, so there's a lot to think over and weigh up."
"He has to make a decision that is right for him and his football career."
Neill is tipped to join fellow Aussie Harry Kewell at Liverpool after an outstanding World Cup campaign.
posted by Footballer at New deal for Neill
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Hyundai A-League Round eight preview
Round eight of the Hyundai A-League kicks off tonight with the Central Coast Mariners up against Sydney FC and Italian import Benito Carbone at the Central Coast Stadium. After playing a key role in his first game for Sydney against Adelaide United, Carbone was subdued last week as the Queensland Roar held on for a point.
Might be a case of similar tactics again this week for the Mariners but they have been leaking goals at the back with monotonous regularity this season. All time leading scorer Damien Mori found the back of the net last week for the Mariners and he will again need to score if the Mariners are to cause an upset. The Mariners have only scored the three goals this season in seven games while conceding eight.
The action continues on Saturday night at EnergyAustralia Stadium when the Newcastle Jets host the improving New Zealand Knights. Interim Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond gets a chance to put forward his credentials to be offered the job on a permanent basis in this bottom of the table clash.
The Jets have misfired this season resulting in Nick Theodorakopoulos being dismissed this week. Not going to be an easy assignment for the Jets who run into an improving New Zealand outfit. The Kiwis have lost their last three games 1-0, to Perth Glory in Perth last week and 1-0 to the Central Coast Mariners the week prior and Sydney FC.
Two A-League games on Sunday with the unbeaten Melbourne Victory FC hosting Adelaide united at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne while the Queensland Roar head west to tackle the Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium.
Not much left to be said about the all conquering Victory who continue to impress with each passing week of the Hyundai A-League. Adelaide bounced back with a much needed confidence boosting win last week and will be improved by the return of Chinese striker Shengqing Qu.
A big game for the Roar this weekend with the Queenslander's out to cement a finals birth over the coming month. The Roar play four of their next seven games at home, included a trip to New Zealand to take on the lowly Knights.
Round 8 Tips Sydney
New Zealand
Adelaide
Queensland
posted by Footballer at Hyundai A-League Round eight preview
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Monday, October 09, 2006
Jets sack coach
Nick Theodorakopoulos was yesterday dismissed from his position as coach of A-League club Newcastle Jets after a poor start to the season.
The Jets have not managed to post a win in any of the 13 matches they have played this season since Theodorakopoulos took over from Richard Money.
Assistant coach and former Socceroo Gary van Egmond will take over the misfiring Jets who are entrenched at the bottom of the A-League ladder with three draws and four losses.
posted by Footballer at Jets sack coach
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Victory march to seventh straight win
The Melbourne Victory has cleared out to a 9 point lead in the race to win the minor premiership in the Australian A-League after posting their seventh straight win lastnight.
The league leaders scored a 2-0 win over the Newcastle Jets at Energy Australia Stadium with Daniel Allsopp bagging a double for the Victorians before a crowd of 4635.
Adelaide United kicked off the weekend action with a 3-1 home win over the Central Coast Mariners at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The Reds played an attacking formation with coach John Kosmina desperate for all three points.
A healthy crowd of 10493 watched the Reds take the lead through Carl Veart before Damian Mori rounded the keeper to draw the Mariners level.
Kristian Rees restored the advantage for the home side with Nathan Burns slotting home Adelaide's third in the 90th minute.
Perth Glory posted a hard earned 1-0 win over a plucky New Zealand Knights outfit at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night with Stuart Young scoring his fourth goal of the Hyundai A-League season.
A crowd of 7,309 was on hand to watch the Glory their first back to back wins of the season.
Sydney FC and the Queensland Roar played out a 1-1 draw at Aussie Stadium with both goals coming in the first half.
The Roar took a shock lead in the 15th minute through Spase Dilevski before Alvin Ceccoli drew Sydney level with a first half injury time goal.
Another healthy crowd of 17,274 was on hand to watch Benito Carbone make his home debut for Sydney who finished the round in equal second place alongside Queensland on 12 points.
posted by Footballer at Victory march to seventh straight win
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Friday, October 06, 2006
Round 7 A-League preview
Round 7 of the Australian A-League gets underway tonight with Adelaide United and the Central Coast Mariners FC meeting at Hindmarsh Stadium. The Red's will be keen to put last week's pasting at the hands of Benito Carbone and Sydney FC behind them with a win here. The Central Coast and Adelaide met in the Hyundai A-League Pre-Season Cup final, resulting in the fourth draw from six encounters between the teams.
The action continues out west where the Perth Glory will shoot for back to back wins when they host the new Zealand Knights. Home win here with the Knights shooting for their second wooden spoon in as many seasons.
Sydney FC take on the Queensland Roar in this wekend's match of the round. Sydney had a confidence boosting win last weke against Adelaide with new recruit Benito Carbone a revelation as he set up two goals and scored one himself. No doubt a big home crowd at Aussie Stadium will turn out to see last seasons champions.
The Newcastle Jets FC host the league leading Melbourne Victory at EnergyAustralia Stadium. The Jets could cause an upset here with the Victory going into this clash without Archie Thompson who is with the Socceroos squad in Brisbane for their friendly clash against Paraguay.
posted by Footballer at Round 7 A-League preview
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Thursday, October 05, 2006
FFA ban Moore
Would be skipper Craig Moore was banned by Football Federation Australia from Australia's upcoming game against Paraguay on Saturday at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. The Newcastle United defender will also miss the Asian Cup qualifier against Bahrain next Wednesday night after being asked to be excused form the squad following his suspension.
Good to see the FFA is still in amateur mode with their Big Stick theory.
Not so long ago, the FFA decided to ban Viduka form club football after his well documented non arrival to help Leeds try to avoid relegation having been away from the club, to be back home with his father who was recovering from a stroke.
Viduka was banned as the FFA set about drawing a line in the sand.
Great idea, no more would Aussie football or its association be considered insignificant on the world football stage.
However, Zeljko Kalac was excused to stay with his then club as they tried to avoid relegation from the Italian Serie A.
Different rules for different folks it seems. There's other examples from the same fixture but i couldn't be bothered going into detail, theres plenty on the Moore incident to write about yet.
A couple years pass and not alot has changed, Ironically Viduka is excused this weekend because his wife is due to have the couples second child, while Moore has been banned for arriving late and the non arrival at a specific function.
It seems the FFA are a one trick pony with the big stick again making an appearance this week.
FFA chief executive John O'Neill said he made the decision to suspend Moore.
O'Neill said, "His reasons were that he'd been to the races on (Tuesday) afternoon, had gone out to dinner with some other players, he stayed up quite late and had some trouble getting to sleep, eventually took a sleeping tablet, and slept through and missed the plane and therefore missed training,"
"Craig's a very senior player, he's been playing for the Socceroos for a very long time, he's a player of some status, he knows the rules and missing the plane, sleeping through and missing training is not consistent with the behaviour we expect of the Socceroos."
Lucky nobody died. Fair dinkum, the game is on an upward spiral in this country and some people want to rule with an iron fist, over a nothing incident. So the boy slept in, big deal.
But then, O'Neill comes from a rugby background where they tend to get drunk in public and cause all sorts of problems, regularly, maybe it's then little wonder he is a little over exuberant with the punishment handed out to Moore.
Moore being fined and playing in Brisbane is more positive for Aussie Soccer than him being banned for sleeping in.
A bloke travels half way around the world, and officialdom simply hasn't a clue. Make no mistake, he should be punished. You just have to work out, what you feel is fair punishment for somebody who has transgressed once in a 10 year career for his country, which has seen him, on countless occasions, risk his career and livelihood to represent Australia.
It's amateur hour.
posted by Footballer at FFA ban Moore
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Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Knights coach fined
New Zealand Knights coach Paul Nevin has been fined and heavily sanctioned by the Football Federation Australia (FFA) for a series incidents emanating from last Thursday's A-League clash against the Central Coast Mariners.
Nevin is banned from the technical area for four matches and also received a suspended two match ban for bringing the game into disrepute after leaving the technical area close to the end of the game to engage in an arguement with Central Coast players.
posted by Footballer at Knights coach fined
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Monday, October 02, 2006
Schwarzer blast for Hiddink
Australian keeper Mark Schwarzer slammed former Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink's “man management” skills yesterday in Sydney.
Schwarzer told The Australian that he thought Hiddink was a great coach adding, "However, he surprised me with how he approached the goalkeeping situation. I think that, in some respects, he showed a lack of man-management skills and a lack of appreciation of what players need in terms of getting ready mentally and emotionally for a big match,"
"I could never understand why he would name the team just hours before kick-off. I always believed that finding out your selection status at such short notice was far from ideal. My best performance at the finals came after he gave me 24 hours' notice about starting."
"Certain individuals in the media have been pushing for Spider (Kalac) for so long. It started before the Oceania World Cup qualifiers against the Solomon Islands," he said.
"I was particularly angry when one journalist re-hashed this thing about me being indecisive with crosses and not coming off my line. He blamed me for the goal that Japan scored in the first match of the finals when everyone at the ground and watching on television saw that I had been clearly fouled."
For mine, I’ve always thought Kalac to be the better keeper, however, he spent the last 12 months sitting on the pine watching AC Milan.
I wouldn’t have thought there was a decision to make with one keeper playing regularly and one not playing at all.
Schwarzer will step out for the Socceroos on Saturday against Paraguay in Brisbane
posted by Footballer at Schwarzer blast for Hiddink
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Carbone stars as Sydney spank Adelaide
35-year-old Italian striker Benito Carbone led Sydney FC to a scintillating 4-1 win over Adelaide United FC at Hindmarsh Stadium yesterday.
Signed as a guest player for four games, Carbone shone brightly setting up midfielder Ruben Zadkovich for the opening goal with a well weighted through ball in the 36th minute.
Carbone ensured Sydney FC would take all three points when a clever flick set up substitute Sasho Petrovski who only had to beat Adelaide keeper Robert Bajic from close range to make it 3-1 before Carbone smacked home the fourth in the 85th minute before 15,119 fans.
Carbone’s performance was simply brilliant, all class and showed exactly how far the A-League still has to go when a 35-year-old can roll up and dominate against the best young talent that is still in the country.
The A-League may be in its infancy but it is seriously lacking quality young players making their mark.
Granted, the Adelaide team had a couple youngsters, but predominately the teams in the A-League are there to get results.
Adelaide coach John Kosmina has assembled an experienced squad, Carl Veart is still going around at age 38.
One wonders at what level the Australian national team will be capable of playing at in years to come when results now are more important than the development of players who will carry this league in the next 5-10 years.
I guess we will talk about this topic at a later date but there is no way anyone can convince me playing a 38 year old now will benefit a club or country in the long term.
I was going to add to this, but instead I will finish with a tip. If anybody has the chance to get to a Sydney FC game while Carbone is in town, do like the Nike man says, Just Do It.
Adelaide United 1 (Burns 54)
Sydney FC 4 (Zadkovich 36, Dodd 56og, Petrovski 80, Carbone 85)
Crowd: 15,119
posted by Footballer at Carbone stars as Sydney spank Adelaide
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Victory March On
Melbourne Victory continued their unbeaten start to the new A-League season with an emphatic 4-1 win over previously unbeaten Queensland Roar.
The Victory, playing at the Telstra Dome to capitalize on surging crowd figures, dominated from start to finish with Captain Kevin Muscat scoring twice in each half from the penalty spot.
Another storming start by the Victory saw them lead 2-1 after only 22 minutes with Fred scoring on 11 minutes before Ante Milicic drew the Roar level with a close range effort.
Muscat put the Victory back in the lead from the spot before adding a second from the spot in the 57th minute.
Melbourne Victory 4 (Fred 11, Muscat 22p, 57p, McLoughan 83)
Queensland Roar 1 (A Milicic 17)
Crowd: 25,921
posted by Footballer at Victory March On
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A-League Football, A-Leaque Soccer, Australia : Aussie Football, A-League Australia
