Lionel Messi
“Lionel Messi grabbed his 100th Barcelona goal as Pep Guardiola’s side went some way to overcoming this week’s Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Sevilla as they beat the Andalusians 4-0 in the sides’ league meeting at the Nou Camp. Sevilla keeper Andres Palop was the hero on Wednesday night as Barca failed to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the home leg and crashed out of the competition on the away-goals rule.” (ESPN)

FC Barcelona Thrash Sevilla; FC Barcelona – 4, Sevilla – 0
“An excellent second half performance saw Barca extract revenge on Sevilla for the Copa Del Rey dissappointment with a sublime 4-0 victory. Earlier on the night Real Madrid were defeated by Athletic Bilbao and that means with this victory we have opened a lead of five points at the top. Barca opened the account courtesy of an own goal by Escude, Pedro then doubled the lead and in the last five minutes Messi grabbed two to complete the tally.” (All About FC Barcelona)

FC Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla – Recap and Video Highlights – La Liga – Saturday, January 16, 2010
“FC Barcelona played Sevilla for the third time in less than two weeks on Saturday, January 16, 2010. The previous two were in the Copa del Rey with Saturday’s match taking place in La Liga. With Real Madrid’s loss earlier in the evening, Barcelona could extend their lead to five points at the top of the table.” (The 90th Minute)

““Mancini really is magic,” proclaims The Sun newspaper, and others agree. Since Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as manager of Manchester City, the world’s richest football club, City have won four games straight. There are whispers that the flaxen-haired Italian might even win the Premier League. Stefan Szymanski and I argue in our book Soccernomics that few club managers have any effect on their teams’ performances.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

“Being of Haitian descent, this earthquake has hit home with young American striker Jozy Altidore. He has uncles and family in Haiti, and over the years has maintained a closeness with the country through charitable works and donations.” (The Offside)

“Nigeria reignited their African Nations Cup hopes with a narrow victory over Benin in an entertaining game in Benguela. Ayegbeni Yakubu’s spot-kick four minutes before the break was enough to separate the sides. Nigeria are now level on points at the top of Group C with Egypt, who face Mozambique later. Benin are rock-bottom.” (ESPN)

Celebrations on the streets as joy takes place of gloom
“The saga of Togo’s withdrawal from the tournament rumbled on in a blizzard of voltes-face and misinformation. First the players had decided to stay after last Friday’s terrorist attack, then their prime minister had told them to go, then Emmanuel Adebayor said they would go even though they wanted to stay, then the sports minister said they could stay, but only if they were first to go and observe three days of mourning.” (Independent)

Malawi on the verge of football history in Angola
“Malawi’s squad know they stand on the brink of history ahead of Monday’s final Group A clash with Mali in the Angolan city of Cabinda. After the red-hot opening day victory over Algeria, when the tournament outsiders thumped the World Cup finalists 3-0, a win will take the Flames to the quarter-finals.” (BBC)

Gabon 0 – 0 Tunisia
“Gabon added a 0-0 draw with Tunisia to their opening win against Cameroon as they put themselves within touching distance of the African Nations Cup quarter-finals. There was little between the two sides in this Group D encounter at the Nossa Senhora do Monte and a draw was a fair result.” (ESPN)

Tony Baffoe talks Africa Cup of Nations
“BBC Fast Track’s Farayi Mungazi puts listeners questions on the Africa Cup of Nations to the former Ghana international Tony Baffoe.” (BBC)

African Nations Cup – 2010
(ESPN)

“Coaches Henk Ten Cate and Otto Rehhagel discovered the true meaning of losing and winning in Greece. Panathinaikos boss Ten Cate was sacked following a 2-0 loss at arch-rivals Olympiakos – a defeat that cost his team top spot in the league – and national team supremo Rehhagel found a shock 1-0 win in Ukraine restored the Euro 2004 winner to the status of local hero.” (World Soccer)

“Pele’s oft-cited prediction, made in 1977, that ‘an African nation will win the World Cup by the year 2000’ is, apparently, apocryphal: he has repeatedly claimed his words were twisted and taken out of context. Nevertheless, it endures, both as a spectacularly errant prophecy (no African team has made it beyond the quarterfinal stage of the competition) and as evidence that the continent has been punching below its weight.” (WSJ)

The Martyrdom of St Stephen, Lorenzo Lotto, 1516
“Rafael Benitez was denied a victory to lift the intense pressure on him when Stoke grabbed a last-ditch equaliser at the Britannia Stadium. It was never pretty, but this much-derided Liverpool outfit stood up to be counted in a physical showdown. And they went ahead when Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos scrambled home his first goal for the club early in the second period of a bitterly contested battle.” (ESPN)

Robert Huth hits Liverpool with last-gasp equaliser for Stoke
“Rafael Benítez was denied refuge from the storm threatening to engulf him by a 90th-minute equaliser from Robert Huth. Liverpool thought they had won it with a scruffy second-half goal from Soitirios Kyrgiakos, but battling Stoke refused to accept defeat and their spirit had its reward at the death.” (Guardian)

Benitez: even Shankly had bad years
“For a heart-stopping moment, until Rafael Benitez’s dry humour revealed itself, history seemed to be about to repeat itself yesterday. ‘Before we start, some facts. Facts,’ said the Liverpool manager, whipping a note from his pocket in a reprise of the routine which preceded Liverpool’s last trip to Stoke City, 12 months ago.” (Independent)

James Lawton: Liverpool must dither no longer – it’s time to send for Hiddink or Mourinho
“Maybe it was an act of cynical cruelty by Guus Hiddink to suggest he might be available for the Liverpool job – and an additional twist of the knife for the club’s ravaged sense of itself that if it was to happen he would first seek a dispensation from his football godfather Roman Abramovich.” (Independent)

Stoke City 1 Liverpool 1: match report
“At this rate, expect Rafael Benítez and Liverpool to demand all their games last only 89 minutes. Yet again, Liverpool threw away two points in the dying stages, handing Stoke City a point they scarcely warranted, and extending their own run of poor form to five wins in 22 games.” (Telegraph)

Rafael Benitez thwarted again by late goal
“Liverpool suffered more heartbreak at the end of a game when Stoke City equalised in the last minute of their Premier League match at the Britainnia Stadium. After a season which has seen Rafael Benitez’s side lose crucial games right at the end of matches, it had seemed that Sotirios Kyrgiakos’s goal in the second half had given Liverpool and their beleaguered manager three valuable points. But Robert Huth scored after a period of sustained Sotke pressure in the 89th minute.” (TimesOnline)

“It is a sign of the extent to which Liverpool’s season has become a train wreck that their home defeat has become a litmus test for the health of Rafael Benitez’s reign at Anfield. However an atrocious result and performance it was – and it was both, topped with whipped cream and a glacé cherry – it really shouldn’t have mattered. Last season, they were beaten just once in the Premier League and there were those that predicted that 2010 would be the season in which they broke their miserable run of almost two decades without an English championship, whilst launching another assault on the Champions League at the same time.” (twohundredpercent)

“Gervinho, Siaka Chico Tiene and Didier Drogba were on target as tournament favourites Ivory Coast secured their first victory of the African Nations Cup with a 3-1 win over Ghana in Cabinda. Gervinho finished off a fluid counter-attacking move after 23 minutes to give Ivory Coast the lead, but they were reduced to 10 men after 55 minutes when Emmanuel Eboue was shown a straight red card for a reckless two-footed tackle.” (ESPN)

Nigeria 1-0 Benin
“Nigeria revived their chances of reaching the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations after an edgy 1-0 win over Benin in Group C on Saturday. Yakubu Aiyegbeni converted a 42nd- minute penalty after Squirrels defender Romuald Boco handled in the box.” (BBC)

Terror at the Africa Cup of nations
“The attack on the Togolese national football team brought chaos and confusion to the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Angola. The team had finished final preparations and were leaving their training camp in Congo-Brazzaville for the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. It is there that the team bus was ambushed by an armed group and caught in a hail of gunfire. Two members of the Togolese team were killed. Togo captain, Emmanuel Adebayor, clearly shaken by the incident, described what happened to the BBC’s Matthew Kenyon.” (BBC)

African Nations Cup – 2010 (ESPN)

“The final specks of dust have now come to rest on the best single performance of the season from a Championship club and Reading face the harsh next step of a trip to the City Ground today; with a Nottingham Forest side lying in wait whose psychological confidence will be at the extreme global opposite of Liverpool’s, even if they cannot call upon the services a freckly blonde man of Madrid and a Phil Collins fan prone to spending time in the pubs and clubs of Southport.” (thetwounfortunates)

“The floodlights were on last Tuesday at Cantilever Park – home of Unibond Division One North side Warrington Town. However the players were not carrying out their usual pre-match warm-up. Instead, armed with wheelbarrows and shovels, they were attempting to make the pitch playable for the first time in five weeks. Despite their best efforts, and those of 20 or so volunteers, this Saturday’s game against Halifax has been called off with more inclement weather forecast for the weekend.” (WSC)

Kodjovi “Dodji” Obilale
“Beyond the trauma unit and the screen of green trees, the row rages on. But then as far as Kodjovi Obilale, who is hooked up to a ventilation machine, it might be happening on another planet. He has the simple imperative to live – and perhaps one day discover with some wonderment how it was he became nothing less than a symbol of both the anguish and the hope of a continent which sees sport not as a problem but deliverance.” (Independent)

World Cup hopefuls suffer in Angola
“It may have taken almost a week but on Thursday, the fifth day of the Nations Cup in Angola, one of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers finally registered a win. Prior to Algeria’s 1-0 win over Mali in Luanda, the best result garnered by a South Africa-bound side was the goalless draw achieved by Ivory Coast against Burkina Faso on Tuesday. The Algerians had opened with a shock 3-0 defeat by minnows Malawi, Cameroon went down 1-0 to unfancied Gabon, Nigeria led, but then lost, 3-1 to defending champions Egypt, while Ghana’s start to the tournament was delayed by the events in Cabinda.” (ESPN)

Caf acknowledge Malawi complaint
“The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has referred an official complaint it has received from Malawi to the local organising committee (Cocan) following Thursday night’s defeat to Angola. Malawi coach, Kinnah Phiri, told the BBC his team had been ‘demoralised’ by being refused access to training facilities on three separate occasions.” (BBC)

“Did you know that in Switzerland it is illegal to flush the toilet after 10 PM? Or that in Thailand, it is illegal to leave your house without wearing underwear? In Los Angeles, a man can legally beat his wife with a leather belt or strap, but the belt can’t be wider than 2 inches, unless he has his wife’s consent to beat her with a wider strap. And in Scotland, failing to check the paperwork prior to a Scottish Cup game can have you expelled from the competition. Crazy.” (Inside Left)

“In this week’s Football Weekly … Extra James is joined by Sean Ingle, Barry Glendenning and Rob Smyth to discuss the week’s football news. Liverpool’s train-wreck of a season took yet another turn for the worse when the hapless Merseysiders were dumped out of the FA Cup by managerless Reading. They were out-thought as well as out-fought by the Royals and the pod wonder when Rafa will finally be shown the door.” (Guardian)

“The only things that might outpace the talent of Argentina’s forwards at the World Cup this summer are the expectations facing Diego Maradona’s team in South Africa. Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune writes that Maradona, ‘must marvel at the form his forwards are in at the moment.’ Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, et al are scoring goal after goal after goal in the top leagues in Europe.” <a href=”

“Having crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages, the FA Cup in the third round, and hanging out in 7th place on the table with their three best players out of action, Liverpool are staring straight at catastrophe. Without the revenues available to buy their way out of this mess, and with no more money coming in from the Champions League or ticket sales from the FA Cup and a probable lack of Champions league football next year, all those unthinkable questions now need to be asked.” (EPL Talk)

“Like Bill Shankly, Kenny Dalglish gave up the Liverpool job and soon regretted it. Plagued by stress-related blotches, and still haunted by the Hillsborough disaster, King Kenny resigned in 1991 and returned from a family holiday in Orlando a few weeks later dismayed that Graeme ­Souness had taken over.” (Guardian)

“What a difference seven weeks makes. Particularly in the life of a 34-year-old global megastar and footballing itinerant. In late November, David Beckham was a deep-lying central midfielder in despair; a limping, losing finalist in the footballing backwater of Major League Soccer, as his LA Galaxy side slumped to defeat in the U.S. season finale. Come early January, Becks is effectively an inside-right in peak physical condition; a crucial piece in the jigsaw which sees his Milan team, along with Villarreal, Rangers, and, er, Birmingham City as one of the form teams in Europe.” (Footballing World)

“2010 Copa Libertadores fixtures {click here (ESPN Soccernet)}; … . Defending champions are Argentina’s Estudiantes de La Plata. As holders, they enter the 2010 Copa Libertadores automatically. Two other clubs entered automatically, the two Mexican clubs that left the 2009 tournament in the wake of the H1N1 virus scare…Chivas de Guadalajara and San Luis FC. They will enter the tournament in the Round of 16, so they can pick up where they left off last year, so to speak.” (billsportsmaps)

Pieter Jansz Saenredam, Church of Santa Maria della Febbre, Rome
“Liverpool’s disastrous season plunged to new depths as they suffered a humiliating FA Cup exit at Anfield to Reading. The Reds lost Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to injuries and were stunned by the Championship side, who forced extra-time before substitute Shane Long headed the winner in this third round replay. Gerrard had seen a shot deflected home by Reading defender Ryan Bertrand to give Liverpool the lead in the final seconds of the first-half.” (ESPN)

Liverpool hit new low as Reading triumph at Anfield
“This time there is no one else to blame but the players and manager of Liverpool FC. Mountainous debt, divided owners, balancing acts in the transfer market and injuries have excused, explained or disguised so many failings at Anfield this season but no more. Beaten, and deservedly so, at home in the third round of the FA Cup by a Reading team under caretaker management and languishing fourth from bottom of the Championship. Rafael Benítez will be lucky if the next email sent by a Liverpool director in Dallas is simply abusive.” (Guardian)

Liverpool woe as Torres out for six weeks
“Liverpool’s hopes of salvaging their season have suffered a serious setback with key trio Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun all being sidelined. The club confirmed this afternoon the three players, all injured in last night’s humiliating FA Cup loss to Reading, will be out for varying lengths of time up to six weeks.” (Independent)

Liverpool trio hit by injuries to Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun
“Torres, who limped off during the FA Cup third-round defeat to managerless Reading at Anfield, is set to be out for up to six weeks as he prepares to go under the knife.” (Telegraph)

Fernando Torres’ surgery decision will have major implications for Liverpool and Spain
“Torres faces a choice of immense significance for Liverpool. Club or country? Who has more to play for in 2010. If the prolific forward does what is best for Spain, and misses two months of the new year on surgery and rehab, then certain other members of the Liverpool squad with one eye on South Africa might be tempted to ease up, conserving their energies for a potentially momentous summer.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

“When the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Angola tomorrow, many African soccer fans will ignore it. Instead they will keep gathering in “show houses”, “chicken parlours” and cinemas across the continent to watch the English Premier League. This may be more than a change in viewing habits. Just possibly, it could signify that the brief era of nationalism in Africa is ending.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

“A somewhat belated Happy New Year to anyone who happens across these pages, pages that have incidentally been jolted into life by Gordon’s frantic activity in the transfer market of late. Yes, while the annoying levels of snow we’ve received gave Boro a fortuitous opportunity to postpone a potentially tricky home game against Swansea, our manager has used his time well, raiding the coffers of his old club, Glasgow Celtic, for players.” (Smog Blog)

Cameroon
“Anyone fancying a flutter on an African team to do the unthinkable and win this year’s World Cup may be thinking twice about dipping into their pocket after the first round of matches in the Nations Cup. So far, little Malawi – the tournament’s rank outsiders – have managed to muster more points than the combined tally earned by World Cup finalists Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.” (BBC – Piers Edwards)

African viewpoint: Soccer power
“In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Sola Odunfa considers the power of football in Nigeria and why it is the opium of the masses. Once again it is time for mass hysteria in Nigeria. The only enterprise that pulls Nigerians together irrespective of ethnicity, religion or politics is under way.” (BBC)

Algeria stay in the hunt
“Algeria kept their hopes of progress in the African Nations Cup alive as they edged past Mali in Cidadela .
England’s World Cup opponents had lost 3-0 to Malawi in their opening Group A encounter but Rafik Halliche’s header saw them bounce back in style.” (ESPN)

Dhaouadi earns point
“Zambia and Tunisia failed to take advantage of Group D rivals Cameroon’s shock African Nations Cup loss to Gabon as the two nations had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Lubango.” Algeria stay in the hunt
(ESPN)

“Be proud of the effort this team put in today. Even though it was too little, too late, Barcelona took on and defeated Sevilla 1-0 tonight at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan but ultimately it was not enough, as we are knocked out of the Copa del Rey 2-2 on the away goals rule (which I find to be bullshit, and have never liked even if it did benefit us on occasion. This however is a rant for another day). A somewhat tense and irregular first half was followed by a thrilling nonstop second, which is the best forty-five minutes of football I have seen so far this season, even if only one goal resulted and we did not come away with the desired result.” (The Offside)

Sevilla vs Barca, Copa Del Rey 2nd Leg Full Highlight
(All About FC Barcelona)

“For a league which draws snores and a national team which draws derision, those Italians must be doing something right. Everywhere you look in England, they just keep popping up. From all the way at the tippety-top of the English national team down to the Championship, there’s an Italian to be found.” (The Offside)

“This summer’s World Cup in South Africa isn’t just the biggest event on the sporting calendar, it’s also the biggest marketing opportunity of the year. Eight out of 10 people around the world are expected to watch the four-week competition and broadcast rights alone are estimated at $2.7 billion. Billions more will be spent by the global brands that have signed up as official sponsors and are banking on the tournament to give revenues a welcome boost.” (WSJ)

Federico Barocci
“The end of Diego Maradona’s worldwide ban from his game and the beginning of his greatest challenge, the World Cup in South Africa, are exactly 21 weeks apart. The lapsed Argentine idol, marginalized since FIFA forbade him from any involvement in soccer after his foul outburst in a broadcast news conference in November, is free to resume as Argentina’s head coach this Friday.” (NYT)

“In his WSJ column, Gabriele Marcotti brings up the dearth of British managers at the top of English football. Seven of the 20 Premier League managers are foreign. Sir Alex Ferguson is the only British manager among the so-called “Big Four.” Manchester City dumping Mark Hughes for Roberto Mancini seems only to exacerbate this trend.” (EPL Talk)

“Defending African Cup of Nations champion Egypt came from 0-1 down to open the defence of their title with a 3-1 victory of Nigeria earlier today. Hoffenheim striker Chinedu Obasi put the Super Eagles up in the 12th minute. Emad Moteab, Ahmed Hassan and Mohamed Nagui responded for the Pharaohs in the 34th, 54th and 87th minutes.” (Football Fashion)

“While I was putting together today’s “About Last Night”, three separate Liverpool stories all popped up. Given the option of either condensing each of those stories into a one-line blurb or fleshing out the details of each story and presenting them to you, I decided that more is always better; this is doubly true when we’re talking about clearing the air about some odd stories from last weekend. Let’s do that, then; follow along after the jump!” (Avoiding the Drop)

“I’ve had a soft spot for Brian Laws dating back to 1989 when John Aldridge patted him on the head in thanks for an own goal in an FA Cup Semi Final that Nottingham Forest were almost morally disallowed from winning, coming as it did in the wake of Hillsborough. Liverpool achieved partial solace by going on to win the Cup but Laws retained my strong sympathy for this maltreatment.” (thetwounfortunates)

“Benin earned their first ever point in the Africa Cup of Nations, but were denied victory after Mozambique came back from 2-0 down to earn a draw. Razak Omotoyossi scored Benin’s first with a 15th-minute penalty after goalkeeper Rafael had brought him down. Dario Khan’s own goal from a defensive mix-up put the Squirrels 2-0 up.” (BBC)

“The cold spell which has reduced parts of England to a virtual standstill in the past month has hit a number of sporting fixtures, with the almost inevitable moans from football managers about fixture congestion as postponed matches are crammed into an already tight schedule. However, compared to events in the winter of 1962-63, the last few weeks have been a stroll in the park.” (ESPN)

St Mary of Egypt
“1:00 p.m. On Tuesday, Egypt scored three unanswered goals to defeat Nigeria, 3-1, in each team’s opening match in the African Cup of Nations, which was played in Benguela. Egypt opens its African Cup of Nations title defense against Nigeria on Tuesday in Angola, but you will have to forgive the Pharoahs’ supporters back home if, after a failed bid to make their first World Cup in two decades, their minds are still on South Africa. Lined up against them will be the erratic Super Eagles, a team — like many of the African sides headed to the World Cup — still building toward the finals in June.” (NYT)

Egypt 3-1 Nigeria
“Defending champions Egypt came from behind to seal a fine victory over Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations. Chinedu Obasi put Nigeria in front in the 12th minute with a clinical finish. Egypt levelled when a goalkeeping error let Emad Moteab slip the ball into an empty net, before a deflected effort from Ahmed Hassan put them ahead.” (BBC)

“Not the standard 4-4-2 formation is it? That’s the corporate and financing structure of Manchester United FC. The diagram comes from the prospectus to the £500m senior secured notes offering launched on Monday morning. The document provides a fascinating peak into the structure of the English Premier League champions, acquired by the Glazer family in a £790m leveraged buy-out in 2005, both in terms of its finances and the club’s recent performance on the pitch.” (FI)

“During my brief six months working in Angola between 2002 and 2003, a favorite pastime of mine when driving around Luanda was to try to identify the replica team shirts worn by ubiquitous street soccer teams playing in any available space. Brazil’s canary yellow was the most popular, but the range was impressive; I saw complete teams kitted out in the reds of Manchester United, the burgundy of Portugal, the green stripes of Sporting Lisbon, the yellow/orange/black on white design of Germany, even the all whites of Real Madrid—a hopelessly futile choice in the face of the city’s red dirt and grimy haze. I never could quite figure out how Angolan street teams, of both children and adults, managed to procure so many dazzling kits. But it was clearly important—a small, symbolic, daily attempt to claim membership in the community of a global game.” (Pitch Invasion)

“The press coverage of last weekend’s FA Cup third round ties made much of falling attendances. Reports pointed to the rows of empty seats at the DW Stadium, Hillsborough and the Riverside as proof of the hallowed old competition’s waning powers and its increasingly devalued status as an unloved irritant for clubs who prize the Premier League above all else. Is the FA Cup doomed then to go the way of its continental counterparts, the Coppa Italia and Copa del Rey?” (WSC)

 “Saturday afternoon in Islington and Everton’s Steven Pienaar is scooping the ball expertly, delicately over Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, and into the net. A thousand miles away, a slight, pale teenager in a black tracksuit with green trim, RACING emblazoned across his chest, watches it on Televisión Española from his hotel room at the NH Convenciones in Seville. The commentator takes a deep breath and emits a long, drawn-out ¡gooooooool! He pauses. ¡Gol! ¡Gol! ¡Gol! ¡Gol! It is, he says, a golazo, a great goal. ‘Brilliant,’ says his co-commentator. And the teenager agrees; it is. But he can’t help thinking that he could do better.” (Guardian)

“The horrifying attack on Togo’s football team in Angola has sparked a flurry of alarmist stories in newspapers around the world questioning South Africa’s ability to stage the World Cup. Officials organising the South Africa tournament have moved quickly to dismiss those claims.” (BBC)

“Underdogs Malawi shocked fancied Algeria, thumping them 3-0 in a poorly-attended game in Luanda. Russel Mwafulirwa capitalised on a defensive mix-up on 17 minutes, lashing home from a tight angle. Elvis Kafoteka then powered in a header to finish off a smart move from the Malawians on the left.” (BBC)

Who Pays When a Football Player Is Hurt?
“The opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations in Angola was supposed to launch a year of celebration for football in Africa. Instead, the tournament began in sombre mood Sunday as the hosts played Mali in the inaugural match. A heavy shadow hangs over the biennial competition following Friday’s deadly ambush of the Togo team bus that left three people dead and nine more injured. Five months before South Africa hosts the Fifa World Cup for the first time in the continent’s history, the atmosphere of jubilation has soured.” (WSJ)

Angola ‘arrests’ after Togo football team attack
“Angolan authorities have arrested two people over a deadly attack on Togo’s football team at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, state media say. Angola’s National Radio reported that two suspects were arrested in the northern province of Cabinda – where Togo’s team bus was attacked on Friday. Cabinda has seen a low-level insurgency for many years.” (BBC)

A Big Part of Life, and Now Death
“World sports, and not simply African soccer, now have to face up to the reality that they can no longer presume they are immune from terrorism. On Sunday, even as the African Cup of Nations was set to kick off in Angola, there was rank confusion among the Togo players who survived the attack on their bus on Friday after it entered the volatile province of Cabinda. Three corpses and eight people reported wounded — including two in intensive care — yet the team was being pressured to play on.” (NYT)

Football retakes centre stage in Angola
“Angola had promised a glitzy opening ceremony to officially kick off the 2010 African Nations Cup and it certainly did not disappoint. Luanda’s 11 November Stadium was lit up by a colourful show of fireworks and music, which accompanied displays of traditional and contemporary dancing performed by people in elaborate costumes.” (BBC)

Angola Stunned in Draw with Mali
“It was a game that came within one goal of matching a 47-year-old record, but for all the excitement of a thrilling opening match at the African Nations Cup finals, the gloom over Angola only turned a shade darker. Hoping to set aside the grisly images of the Cabinda bus attack that left two members of the Togo delegation dead and the West Africans heading for home, Angola’s ‘Palancas Negras’ team looked set for some positive headlines when their side stormed into a four-goal lead against Mali in Sunday’s first game of the tournament.” (allAfrican)

Africa Cup of Nations results
(BBC)

“The lack of English managers at the very top level has been well and truly noticed now: last night, Radio 5 devoted ninety minutes to discussing the situation with the likes of Tony Adams, Steve McClaren, Terry Venables and Sam Allardyce. The programme went out live, it’s not clear how much any of the participants had prepared, and the comments rarely went beyond the obvious and the hackneyed. Top clubs won’t give an English coach a chance; clubs don’t give managers long enough; there’s no realistic career path in which to gain experience; chairmen think top players turn into top managers.” (More Than Mind Games)

“Host Kartik Krishnaiyer had the opportunity to sit down with acclaimed author and Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper in Miami this week and discussed among other things – The integration of the Dutch National Team with racial minorities – The future of Serie A – the legacy of World War II in Dutch Football – The financial stability of relegated clubs…” (EPL Talk)

“Brazil met Argentina in the second round of the 1990 World Cup, pummelled them for 80 minutes without scoring, and then fell to the sucker punch as Diego Maradona produced one of his turn and burst specials, drew the defence and slipped a pass for Claudio Caniggia to round the keeper and score the only goal of the game. Galvao Bueno, commentating on Brazil’s TV Globo, was not impressed at all. His post-mortem on the goal was along the lines of ‘why didn’t someone take Maradona out, come across and kick him?'” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

“When the players of Blue Square South club Lewes take the pitch at Aggborough against Blue Square Premier club Kidderminster Harriers in the Second Round of this year’s FA Trophy, they will do so with the knowledge that the match could be their last. The club faces a third winding up order at the High Court on Wednesday morning over an outstanding tax debt of £48,000, and the very fact that this is their third appearance at the court doesn’t bode particularly well. There is no finite number of occasions that insolvency proceedings heard at court can be deferred, but the likelihood that they will be able to persuade a judge of the merits of allowing them to continue to trade drops with every case.” (twohundredpercent)

Triumph of Death – Pieter Bruegel the Elder
“The Angolan government chose to use the northern enclave of Cabinda as a venue for the African Cup of Nations to improve the province’s war-torn image and drive investment. But its plan has turned out to be a tragic own goal, with reports of three dead, Togo set to pull out of the tournament and Angola in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Togolese team – which includes Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou – were shot at by a group of gunmen as they travelled by bus from the Republic of Congo into Cabinda, which is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.” (BBC)

“For the first time, a major international tournament begins without anyone knowing for sure how many teams will be taking part. Such is the case with the 2010 African Cup of Nations in the wake of the tragedy that befell the Togo squad on their journey to Angola. Three people died when the Togolese team bus was fired upon as it travelled through Cabinda, a province of Angola where a separatist movement has been involved in armed conflict with the central authorities.” (WSC)

“The cold air that is whistling through football isn’t solely as a result of the recent wintry weather. HMRC are on the move, and their aim is to recoup taxpayers’ money from football clubs that haven’t been paying their bills. They have been busy since the start of the season, having already extinguished Kings Lynn, agreeing a last minute payment plan with Rochdale and forcing a change of ownership at Accrington Stanley, where over £300,000 had to be found – new owner Ilyas Khan, at the last minute, paid £110,000 and stood as guarantor for the remainder. HMRC have also been after a number of non-league clubs, although Kings Lynn were the only terminal casualties.” (twohundredpercent)

“Sometimes I’m not surprised that online piracy is so rampant when it comes to soccer. Trying to find out who has the rights to a game or tournament is very difficult, and even when you find a stream, you’re not sure whether it’s an official one or not. Take, for example, the African Nations Cup which kicks off in a few hours from Angola. As far as I can tell, there’s no English-speaking television station in the United States that is broadcasting the game.” (EPL Talk)

“Football was never simply a game in Africa. It arrived in the mid 19th Century across the coast of the continent as a by-product of empire building. British, French, Portuguese priests, sailors, soldiers and missionaries brought a game unseen and not played by any in Africa. Traditional sports abounded but there is no record of anyone kicking a ball until the brutal transformation of the continent.” (BBC)

“One of the things I actually get paid to do in my office is run radiant heat load calculations for one of the product lines I represent. See, in my day-to-day work, I’m a sales representative for about ten different hydronic heating product lines, one of which is a radiant tubing company. Typically, we do heat loads for residential houses and driveways; however, one of the product lines I represent has been involved in some major projects. Projects like sports field turf conditioning. With all the weather postponements over the weekend, I figured I’d take a look at what, exactly, goes into a turf conditioning system and what they’re supposed to do.” (Avoiding the Drop)

Angola
“Togo’s footballers are being recalled from the Africa Cup of Nations by their government following a deadly attack on the team’s bus in Angola. An assistant coach, press officer and driver were killed. Two players were shot and injured in Friday’s attack. The Angolan government and tournament officials had been pressing Togo to stay for their group games in Cabinda. Togo government minister Pascal Bodjona said the team was coming home because the players were in a state of shock.” (BBC)

Togo Bus Attack in Angola ahead of African Cup of Nations: Reaction & Some Serious Questions
“So on the eve of the African Cup of Nations 2010, African football’s jewel in the crown, tragedy strikes. As was reported earlier, the Togo national team bus was ambushed by gunmen and shot at on it’s way from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the team’s base in Cabinda, where they were due to play their Group B Cup of Nations matches. Reports are coming in all the time, but it is thought that the team bus driver was killed on the spot. Additionally, 4 players are thought to have been shot and team doctors are also seriously injured. Nantes forward Thomas Dossevi spoke to RMC, a French radio station after the attack.” (Just Football)

No concerns over South African security, insists World Cup chief
“Danny Jordaan, the head of the 2010 South Africa World Cup, has told Observer Sport there should be no concern over safety at the tournament following the gun attack in Angola on Togo’s team bus, which killed four people and wounded eight others on Friday. Yet while Jordaan was insistent that ‘terrorists cannot be allowed to win’, he did admit “even more stringent” security measures would be taken ahead of the finals, the first to be held in Africa.” (Guardian)

Clubs want African players back after Togo attack
“Hull boss Phil Brown has led calls for Premier League players at the Africa Cup of Nations to return to the UK after the Togo bus came under gunfire. The assistant coach, press officer and driver were killed. Two players were shot and injured in Friday’s attack. Hull’s Gabon striker Daniel Cousin and Nigerian midfielder Seyi Olofinjana are among 31 Premier League players in Africa for the tournament.” (BBC)

Togo withdraw from Africa Cup of Nations after deadly gun attack
“Togo have withdrawn from the Africa Cup of Nations following the gun attack on the team bus that is understood to have killed one player, two staff members and the driver yesterday as it crossed the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda.” (Guardian)

Togo withdraw from ANC as death toll increases
“Togo have withdrawn from the African Nations Cup in Angola following the machine gun attack on their team bus on Friday, with the death toll now understood to have risen to three. The team bus was attacked by rebels after crossing the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda ahead of the tournament. There have been conflicting reports about the identity of those shot, but Togo assistant coach Abalo Amelete and a spokesperson, Stanislas Ocloo, have died along the bus driver; while the condition of goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, who was reported dead earlier, is unclear.” (ESPN)

Tragic Togo attack has done irreparable damage
“Once again, the world of sport has been dragged into the news spotlight with tragic consequences. And, with the World Cup looming on the horizon, it could not have come at a worse time for the continent of Africa. There have been fears about the showpiece event in June, but Friday night’s shocking gun attack on the Togo team bus, which left four dead and many more injured, has now raised questions over the future of this year’s African Nations Cup as well.” (ESPN)

“If this year’s African Cup of Nations in Angola has entered the psyche of English football fans at all, it is because of the cataclysmic effect on Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes of a month without Didier Drogba. Hull, Sunderland and Burnley, it seems, will be too good for Daniel Sturridge. The 2008 tournament ought to have been the breakthrough for its standing in Britain, with less talk of the damage done by holding the competition at an inconvenient time for the Premier League (how dare they?) and more talk about the… y’know… football.” (twohundredpercent)

Group A: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Algeria, Angola, Malawi, Mali)
“The tournament preview is up, you’ve seen the African Cup of Nations 2010 match schedule, now let’s crack onto the group previews. Here is our team-by-team guide to the competition, which kicks off in Angola this weekend.” (Just Football), Group B: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo), Group C: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Benin, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria), Group D: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia, Zambia)

African Cup of Nations Guide: Angola 2010

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006)
“The relationship between football and the box in the corner of your living room is a somewhat complex one. On both the big screen, the game hasn’t particularly well served, in no small part because even all of the drama that can be mustered with the aid of a script, hundreds of actors, a bunch of actors and all the muscle that Hollywood can muster seldom matches the sheer, visceral, unscripted thrill of the match itself. Television does better. The structure and length of the television programme seems better suited to the stories that the game has to tell, and the traditional strengths of strong factual programming – well chosen archive material and outstanding research – are obviously perfect for documentary-style stories from the game’s past.” (twohundredpercent)

“Quick, who finished second at the 1990 World Cup? Who was third in 1982? Chances are you don’t know. And if you do, congratulations — only a select few would recognize such as a laudable feat. World Cups are staged to crown a champion, to determine who is the world’s best — over the span of a given month, anyway. Tournaments come and go. The winners are forever heralded, their jerseys embroidered with a star above the crest to mark the occasion. Everyone else is forgotten. Yet some of the losers are memorable for just that: losing.” (ESPN)

“Football’s January transfer window, which opened Friday, has fast come to resemble an annual shopping frenzy for Europe’s leading clubs. First implemented in the 2002/03 season, the transfer window system gives teams 12 weeks in the summer and the month of January to recruit reinforcements for their rosters. Outside of those two periods, transactions are banned.” (WSJ)

“The European winter transfer window was flung open with a flourish last Saturday with Roma putting on display their newly acquired Italian international striker Luca Toni. Everybody seemed happy with the 18-month loan deal from Bayern Munich, not least the free-spirited Toni, whose chances of being part of Marcello Lippi’s squad going to South Africa next summer will doubtless improve thanks to the likelihood of playing regularly and being back on Italian soil.” (BBC)

“James is joined by Raphael Honigstein, Barry Glendenning and John Ashdown to discuss what little football news there is, as bad weather stops most of the midweek action. Stoke City need more than a bit of snow and ice to put them off, and the pod enthuse about their entertaining win over Fulham. But should Arsenal’s game have gone ahead? And why do other countries manage to play despite having worse conditions?” (Guardian – James Richardson)

“There are no cup holders in this competition, as the Europa League is brand new, but de-facto Holders are Shakhtar Donetsk, of Ukraine, who won the final UEFA Cup title last May. The Europa League Knockout stage will begin in the third week of February, on the 16th and 18th. To avoid a Merseyside fixture congestion, the round will kick off two days before the rest of the matches in the leg. So it’s Everton v. Sporting Clube de Portugal on 16 February, and the other 15 matches on 18 February, including Liverpool v. Unirea Urziceni.” (billsportsmaps)

“Last month Marta was awarded the World Footballer of the Year trophy for the forth time. I have said it before: Marta is a great player. But in ten years, only three women have been given this award (Mia Hamm got it twice, & Birgit Prinz three times). Since 2001 (the year FIFA started awarding this trophy to female players), 9 men received the award with Ronaldinho winning it twice. I suspect Marta herself doesn’t think she deserves to have won this honor four years in a row.” (From A Left Wing)

“And so we come to the first posting of 2010. Only a few weeks ago, as I was stuck at an airport somewhere in southern Belgium staring out at an empty tarmac, waiting for an airplane that would never come, and facing another long drive home, I was thinking that with the Xmas holiday effectively cancelled, at least I wouldn’t have to miss my recommended daily allowance of Scottish football.” (Inside Left)