“As a theme for a downtown party, a salute to late-’70s American professional soccer sounds a little on the you’ve-got-to-be-kidding side. But anyone who walked into Openhouse Gallery in NoLIta one rainy night in mid-February would have seen a young crowd in a huge room celebrating the New York Cosmos, the long-defunct team that briefly turned the world’s most popular sport into a glamorous New York fad.” NYT
“A penalty each from the two Pichichi contenders saw honours even at the Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho left out Mesut Ozil and brought in Pepe to give extra grit in the centre of midfield. Raul Albiol started at centre-back, and Karim Benzema got the nod upfront. Pep Guardiola welcomed back Carles Puyol, allowing Sergio Busquets forward into his natural position. Elsewhere, it was as expected.” Zonal Marking
Ronaldo earns draw in el clasico
“Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late penalty to earn 10-man Real Madrid a dramatic 1-1 draw from the clasico showdown with bitter rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu. Ronaldo’s 82nd-minute spot-kick cancelled out Lionel Messi’s 53rd-minute penalty for Barca, which came following an incident that also saw Madrid defender Raul Albiol sent off.” ESPN
Real Madrid 1-1 FC Barcelona (El Clasico) – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats
The 90th Minute
“Manchester City won the derby to progress to the FA Cup final next month. Roberto Mancini chose to leave out Edin Dzeko despite Carlos Tevez’s absence – he went with Mario Balotelli upfront, supported by Yaya Toure, with Adam Johnson and David Silva on the flanks. Sir Alex Ferguson left out Ryan Giggs and Javier Hernandez. He used three ‘wingers’ – though Park Ji-Sung played in the centre. Dimitar Berbatov started alone upfront.” Zonal Marking
Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – FA Cup
The 90th Minute
“Borussia Dortmund cruised to victory against a Freiburg side who should be made to refund the 4,000 or so travelling fans who took the four and a half hour journey to North Rhine-Westphalia.” Defensive Midfielder
“Below are MOTD video highlights for all the EPL matches on April 16, 2011.” The 90th Minute
Scissors Kick 