“Maccabi Haifa became the worst team ever in the group stages of the Champions League this season, losing all six games without scoring. Four days after their last group match, they faced Hapoel Petach Tikva in the Israeli Premier League. The club’s owner, Yaakov Shachar, gathered the players for a motivational chat beforehand and urged them to win. ‘Our future as a club depends on the consequences of this game,’ he said.” (WSC)

“Jings, cribbens and help me boab. We can’t even go away for a couple of days without the proverbial hitting the fan. Our betting slip, the one that said Laszlo will be the first to walk (after a gentle push), has been thrown into the bin along with the other Xmas crappery we got. Gannon? Sacked? Like, whit?! And they where doing so well. Motherwell, to be precise (djing boom).” (Inside Left)

River Plate Stadium
“When Diego Maradona took charge of Argentina’s national team last March, his training staff – lead by general manager Carlos Bilardo – enlisted a ‘gang’ to support the team, with promises that they would be taken to the World Cup in South Africa. This group consisted mainly of past and present Boca Juniors and Estudiantes de La Plata hooligans, most of who had lengthy police records.” (World Soccer)

“With half a season or so now completed in the Championship, my fellow blogger Lloyd and I have taken the opportunity to assess events thus far, in the wake of a bracing walk along Plymouth Hoe. Here are the results…” (thetwounfortunates)

“The festive period may have come and gone, but the confusing world of the ownership of football clubs continues to rumble on. The recent break has seen developments involving two names that have graced these pages before, Morell Maison and John Batchelor. with mixed results. Maison came to our attention because of his time in charge at Southern League club Halesowen Town, but has now resurfaced at, of all places, Chester City, where he was announced as their new Director of Football on Boxing Day.” (twohundredpercent)

“Over the past two seasons, Lazio’s Macedonian striker Goran Pandev scored 34 goals in all competitions, yet has not played a single minute for the Roman club this season. The only times he has stepped on the pitch has been for his country, where he acquitted himself exceptionally well, scoring six times in six appearances (including two goals against mighty Spain). Mr. Pandev has not been injured, nor has he been suspended; rather he has been locked in an unusual dispute with his employer, one which highlights the peculiarities of soccer’s free-agency system and the way clubs are dealing with it.” (WSJ)

Agustin Delgado
“Last week Phil Minshull picked his European team of the decade – so I was asked to do the same for South America. But what would be the criteria? Obviously in this globalised age the top South Americans play their club football on the other side of the Atlantic. But European football is not my beat, and I don’t watch enough of it to supply an authoritative opinion. So if anyone wants to suggest a South American side based on club form, then use the space below – and let a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

“In 1981, Manchester City, a club in Salford whose big spending hadn’t brought results, allowed in the television cameras. Not entirely by coincidence, he chose the same period to sack championship-winning City coach Malcolm Allison in favour of John Bond, who’d take them to the FA Cup Final. Twenty years earlier, Bond had been a disciple of Allison’s, part of a group including Bobby Moore and Noel Cantwell who grew up in Big Mal’s exuberant shadow at West Ham. It’s all here. Compelling, saddening, and embarrassing all at once…” (More Than Mind Games)

“What a month December has been in the Smog household. Christmas preparations have dominated, obviously, from the sheer difficulty of buying a decent tree once you reach the fifteenth of the month (I see no reason why we can’t buy an artificial, but noooooo) through to the traditional illnesses that we have all suffered since finishing work and school. Physically, I’m in the best shape of the Smog family, but spiritually I’m not doing too well. Boro’s form has seen to that.” (Smog-Blog)

Ruud Van Nistelrooy
“The January sales. No sooner is Christmas over and the presents unwrapped than people are off out shopping for bargains in the winter sales. The same applies to football. With the 2010 World Cup but a few months away, the upcoming January transfer window is the last available chance for players out of favour at their current clubs to secure a move and revive their dreams of a trip to South Africa.” (Just Football)

“(*) ‘Scottish Football Books’ are defined under the ‘FIFA granny rule’ – even if they’re not Scottish but they mention Scotland, they qualify. (I ignore the fact that Fever Pitch would almost certainly choose to play for England if it had the choice.)” (First Touch Online)

“As we move towards the new year, five teams are fighting it out for third and fourth in the Premier League. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Spurs, Manchester City, and Liverpool are striving to lay claim to those coveted Champions League positions and only two will prevail. But who? The season has hit it’s halfway mark, and truth be told, the top three has a predictable ring about it. The only real surprise, position wise, has been Liverpool’s disastrous start to the season, which see’s them floundering in seventh, out of title contention, and with their manager under severe pressure to finish fourth.” (Bleacher Report)

Hans Memling
“Liverpool scrambled their way to a much-needed 2-0 win over Wolves as the pressure lifted from the club. But it was never going to be simple against an organised Wolves side, with the points only being secured after the Midlanders were reduced to ten men when defender Stephen Ward was sent-off. Even that was a bizarre decision, with referee Andre Marriner at first getting the wrong man, booking Christophe Berra before his error was pointed out by a pack of Liverpool players who made sure that Ward was punished for a second bookable offence.” (ESPN)

Steven Gerrard takes his chance but Liverpool look less than masterful
“Liverpool were insulted by having to face a full-strength Wolves team, but the deepest grievance at Anfield belonged to Mick McCarthy. His team were intensifying Rafael Benítez’s problems before an agitated home crowd when, after a touch of theatrics, a case of mistaken identity and various influences in the dug-out, they were fatally reduced to 10 men. ‘They needed a break and they got it,’ said McCarthy. Liverpool had been reprieved.” (Guardian)

Gerrard finds his form to feast on Wolves
“Liverpool had to wait until Wolves were down to 10 men before they could convert their dominance into a lead but it will take small steps like this to get their season back on track. The final score is all that matters but it should not mask just how hard Liverpool found it to break down their opponents, who were reduced to 10 men just after the restart when Stephen Ward was eventually given a second caution. Referee Andre Marriner originally wrongly showed Christophe Berra a yellow card.” (Independent)

Liverpool 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0: match report
“When you have endured a start to the campaign like Liverpool’s, even this will do. Wins are wins, particularly if you have recorded just four in your previous 17 matches, but Rafael Benítez’s side had to wait until Wolverhampton Wanderers were reduced to 10 men for the goals to flow. Steven Gerrard’s performance was symptomatic of the team that he captains. Hardly back to his best, Gerrard struggled for the first hour before Stephen Ward was sent off, after referee Andre Marriner initially cautioned the wrong player, and the England midfielder scored his first goal since Nov 9, before Yossi Benayoun added a second.” (Telegraph)

“The English football season started off with Steve Bruce wondering what the hell Twitter was when a media storm broke following Darren Bent’s expression of frustration on his then-stalled move to Sunderland from Spurs in the summer. ‘Someone says Darren has been Twittering,’ Bruce told the Sunderland Echo. ‘I don’t even know what that is, but I have seen a few things in the papers about it.’” (Pitch Invasion)

“While most people will be keeping an eye on the QPR of the north, some of us are wondering whether two of the Championship’s in-form strikers can extend their spicy scoring streak over the next three days. Peter Whittingham, Michael Chopra and Matty Fryatt all started the season like it was their last and still figure at the head of the charts, but a quick look at results and scorers from recent weeks suggests that there’s some real competition for the Pichichi.” (thetwounfortunates)

Heurelho Gomes
“Heading towards a potentially momentous 2010, Tottenham’s Brazil international certainly has plenty to smile about. Gomes is going to the World Cup in South Africa and is definitely going places with Harry Redknapp’s Spurs, who lie fifth in the Premier League table, even though they face a tricky Boxing Day trip to Fulham.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

“As we approach the end of a decade which has seen the popularity of world football and the Premier League increase ten-fold, we look back upon what an incredible past ten years it’s been with appreciation and maybe even a little bit of nostalgia. As I’m sure we’ll say again in ten years time, the Noughties have been an incredibly important decade for the growth of the world’s game in America. The potential remains endless.” (EPL Take)

“The World Cup has not been kind to the Americans. They’ve never been past the semifinals – and that was 80 years ago – and they have losing records against Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Italy and Germany. But there was that one moment, long ago, when the U.S. team knocked off a major soccer power: mighty England. Next June, get set for the rematch.” (Boston Herald)

“In the uefa.com Magazine’s final edition of the year we look back over a memorable 12 months in European football and take our pick of some of the highlights from previous episodes.” (UEFA)

“This week’s ‘Video Of The Week’ is one that we have done goes back to the 1982/83 season for a complete episode of “The Big Match Live”. The previous season, Brighton had beaten Liverpool at Anfield on their way to an FA Cup final defeat at Wembley against Manchester United. The following season, they drew the English champions again, this time at The Goldstone Ground, although this time they were a Second Division team, having contrived to get themselves relegated at the same time as getting to the cup final.” (twohundredpercent)

“It’s been another frustrating week for me leading into Christmas. I couldn’t train much last week because I had a slight hamstring strain and my family was sharing around a virus so I had to keep away from the training ground anyway. I’ve still got a bit of a sore throat but I’ve been itching to get out there on the training ground this week and get a full week’s work done in preparation for our big match on Boxing Day. On the whole I am feeling much better and I am raring to go again.” (BBC)

“In the run up to the World Cup in South Africa next year, hundreds of thousands of fans will be welcomed to the country in new and improved airports for a 30 day celebration of football. To make sure that South Africa can handle the influx, the country’s airports have been receiving a facelift ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and with only six months until kick-off, the last few touches are being applied.” (Goal)

“Once you click to get on to the main map page, the map of Greater London is viewable in full screen when you click near the center of the map…right on the rectangular Millwall crest. Besides showing the ceremonial counties which ring Greater London, I added surrounding towns. I did this with Google Earth, and then I checked town populations; sorry if I missed any significant towns. I added a few details in central London…Hyde Park, Regents Park, Parliament, and the boundaries of The City of London.” (billsportsmaps)

“The first decade of soccer in the new millennium was one of awakenings and departures, of arrivals and goodbyes, some moving and affecting, at least one moment stunning in its transgression. Until the 2002 World Cup, the co-host South Korea had never won a match in soccer’s world championship. Then it won its opening game, 2-0 over Poland, and eventually became the first Asian country to reach the semifinals. An insecure country became transformed and self-confident. You could see the collective chest swelling.” (NYT)

“There are winners and there are losers in football and it’s time to weed out those who suffered in 2009. But losing is not a simple concept. Some are major contributors to their own downfall and deserve the brick bats that come their way, while others are victims of circumstances and probably deserve better…..and in our 2009 review we’ll look at both, some with sympathy, others without.” (Soccer Lens)

Javier Zanetti
“In Part 1 & Part 2 of our Remember When… retrospective look at the decade we dipped into the past ten years of international football to bring you some of the game’s most memorable moments on the world stage. Now for Part 3 we turn our attentions to domestic football, with our English Premier League decade in review…” (Just Football – Part III), Remember When… (part IV): starring Chelsea, Arsenal, Leeds, West Brom, Manchester United & The Special One – Premier League Decade in Review

“In a better world, this could be described as the Host of Football Past handing over to the Host of Football Future. Finney and Edwards, together for England. But we don’t live in a better world, and this is what’s left. As you read this, I’m enjoying Wigilia in the Galloway Forest. A glass of krupnik with you, everyone, and I hope you like the clip.” (More Than Mind Games)

“It is not a done deal that Craig Levein will be confirmed as Scotland manager but it looks as though it is almost certain. Now, we can all guffaw at Gordon Smith’s claim that some of the biggest names in world football were interested and, having reviewed the applications from Ferguson, Mourinho, Hiddink et al, they picked the bookies favourite. This is more than a little harsh.” (Left Back in the Changing Room)

Riyas Komu, “Stadium I,” oil on canvas, 2007
“Iraq’s victory over Saudi Arabia in the 2007 Asia Cup final is likely to hold up as one the decade’s most significant wins. The team’s victory represented a complex distillation of resistance and anger. The torture and murder of Iraqi athletes is frequently cited in the litany of horrors suffered by the Iraqi people at the hands of Saddam Hussein (see this 2003 Sports Illustrated story). Responding to allegations of torture in the country’s soccer program, in 1997, FIFA investigated the architect of Iraq’s athletics program,” (art 21), (From A Left Wing)

“James Richardson’s joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul Doyle, and Jonathan Wilson for the latest Football Weekly – and what a weekend it was in the Premier League. We start, of course, with the big sheik-up at Eastlands, where Manchester City have dumped Mark Hughes and replaced him with Roberto Mancini. Can the Italian get the Blues into the top four? Or should they have been looking a little closer to home – Roy Hodgson perhaps, after his Fulham side embarrassed Manchester United 3-0?” (Guardian – James Richardson)

“It’s time again for Inside Left to take a wee break, so updates will be a little sporadic between now our return in January. But in keeping with tradition, we like to round off the year with our Christmas alphabet. A is for …” (Inside Left)

“What did you want for Chrismas? A new Ipod? A new laptop? Well, the mid and lower table sides in the Premiership, nay, the world, really wanted something much simpler – a coherent enforcement mechanism to punish guilty parties. If Justice without Power is impotence, then power without justice is tyranny. And this Christmas, the Chelsea ‘appeal’ that overturned their transfer ban shows once again that justice for some is not the same justice for all.” (futfanatico)

“These are dark days for Liverpool. A club so accustomed to success are out of the Champions League before Christmas, have just four wins in 17 games in all competitions and sit eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. There is no doubt that this is the most crucial juncture of Rafael Benitez’s career at Anfield. Even amongst the staunchly loyal cabal that is ex-Liverpool players, cracks have appeared. Graeme Souness recently angered Benitez by voicing fears about a potential ‘meltdown’ while Ronnie Whelan delivered a very personal attack on the Spaniard, culminating in the declaration that ‘his days have got to be numbered’.” (ESPN)

“Contrary to all the glamour and the media hype that surrounds the Ballon d’Or award for the European Footballer of the Year, you will have to search carefully through the sports pages to find out who captured the Bidone d’Oro award (‘The Golden Bin’) prize. The award is given to the worst player of the season in the Italian Serie A by Italian radio station Radio 2.” (ESPN)

“As we head into the festive season, English fans are wrapping the present they give themselves before every World Cup – the gift of unbridled confidence in their national football team. And yet, as they have for the past 40+ years, those English fans are likely to stick their thumb in the Christmas pudding and pull out something far less enjoyable than the plum.” (EPL Take)

“The most exciting climax the Brazilian Championship has seen in years was marred by two incidents of crowd trouble. One was in the line to buy tickets for Flamengo’s crunch game against Grêmio earlier this month, where the police used tear gas, batons and rubber bullets to maintain order. The other came after Coritiba had been relegated to the second division, and some of its fans staged a full-scale riot on the pitch.” (SI – Tim Vickery)

“The tears of national team general manager Oliver Bierhoff; the 35,000 sorrow-stained faces at the memorial service; the numerous volumes of the book of condolence; and the sea of candles, flowers and shirts left at the gates of his home ground.” (World Soccer)

“This weekend has seen yet another example of the defensive frailties plaguing Celtic this year. Firstly, we go three nil down after a mere quarter of an hour in our Europa League game, and then the lack of communication between Gary Caldwell and Glenn Loovens saw us fall to yet another league defeat. Simply put, it isn’t good enough.” (The Great Footballing Circus)

“It will be the big noise at next year’s football World Cup. The vuvuzela, a metre-long plastic horn blown by South African football fans, is loved and hated in equal measure for emulating a herd of elephants or hive of angry bees. But while manufacturers are hoping to cash in on the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sell the instrument to hundreds of thousands of visiting supporters, the man who claims he invented the vuvuzela says he will receive nothing.” (Guardian)

“The Spanish Primera Division or La Liga has its commonly known has reached its winter break with Real Madrid and Barcelona in a tight race at the top of the table. On the opposite end, newly promoted Xerez is last with 7 points and a lot of work to do.” (The 90th Minute)

“As the Premier League reaches the half-way point in its season, Mark Siglioccolo takes a look into his crystal ball and wonders whether the days of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea might be coming to an end. Sixteen games into the season and it is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested championships in recent history. What is even more exciting and nail-biting for the fans is that it does not look as if there will be a runaway leader, or possibly even a two-horse race for the title.” (twohundredpercent)

“In WSC 251 (January 2008) Jon Spurling braced himself for a festive football hangover. Along with communal baths, a crafty drag on a cigarette in the toilets, and swigging a bottle of brown ale with the lads, Christmas parties are entwined in the fabric of English football. ‘The players have talked of little else for weeks,’ confided Ian Rush – dressed in Beefeater garb for Liverpool’s bash – to a BBC reporter in 1992. ‘All the lads have made the effort to dress up,’ added Rushie, as Bruce ‘The Joker’ Grobbelaar and John ‘Dick Turpin’ Barnes staggered past clutching empty Grolsch bottles.” (WSC)

“The end of a decade. It doesn’t really mean anything does it? Do people actually still bother to organise decades into smart, distinctive categories with catch-all phrases like the ‘swinging 60s’ anymore? If they do I’ve no idea how the noughties will be remembered; an abundance of technological advancements and some pretty major international crises, any got a witty adjective to capture the mood?” (Just Fooball – (Part I), (Just Football – (Part II)

“Whittling the best footballers of the decade down to just ten representatives was something of an arduous, if enjoyable, task here at Soccernet towers. But, following plenty of arguments, rolling of eyes and whistles of disbelief we eventually settled on the final ten…” (ESPN)

“The long and arduous Premiership journey has reached the halfway point, as a handful of teams gaze upon the summit and the rest fear a crashing fall back to Earth. But how can we quantify such a qualitative championship? With our best efforts, that’s how. And a little inspiration. David Bowie’s glower has already helped us in ranking the top of the premiership, as has Cantinflas, the flower of 1950’s Mexican cinema. And, well, we are running out of words that rhyme with power. Please email suggestions. In the meantime, enjoy a look at the great towers of legendary architect Gaudi. We present your EPL tower rankings.” (futfanatico)

“Pep Guardiola is piling up the titles with Barcelona, and doing it in style – but he must surely face some competition for any coach of the year award from the man whose team gave him a scare on Saturday – Alejandro Sabella of Argentine side Estudiantes. Like Guardiola, Sabella is a first-time coach – though the Argentine does have many years experience as assistant to Daniel Passarella before being tempted to fly solo with Estudiantes, who are one of the clubs he played for, along with Leeds and Sheffield United.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Diana and Actaeon. 1556-1559. Titian.
“The first thing Capello said on becoming England manager was that when an Englishman pulled on his international shirt, he lost all the confidence he felt at his club: he played in fear. The task for Capello was to create the conditions for confidence that already existed at Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. And in that he succeeded, but could he have done it for Scotland? I argue not. The Scottish job, for the time being, is beyond the power of a single man. If the Scotland team are to experience what England experienced in 2009, change has to come from the Scottish FA, the Scottish press, the Scottish clubs, and, especially, in Scottish fan culture itself.” (More Than Mind Games)

“In August, I looked at a clutch of five once famous clubs currently biding their time in various European second divisions, in the same way that Newcastle and Nottingham Forest among others are being forced to do so in the Championship. With both Magpies and Tricky Trees primed for an exit from purgatory, I thought it would be interesting to assess the progress of these additional five exiles…” (thetwounfortunates)

“The battle of the billionaires has developed into a Cold War at Arsenal Football Club. E. Stanley Kroenke, a U.S. real-estate and sports mogul, and Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov are the two superpowers locked in a tussle for outright control of the Premier League team. The latest flashpoint in their power struggle came Friday when Arsenal disclosed that after months of inactivity, Mr. Usmanov—through his investment vehicle Red & White Holdings—had acquired 668 shares in the North London club, increasing his stake to more than 26%.” (WSJ)

Rafik Saifi
“Saifi’s 18 goals put him sixth on Algeria’s all-time goalscoring list and he registered crucial goals in both games against Zambia during qualifying. He joined Qatari side Al-Khor Sports Club in August, but has spent most of his career in the French and Belgian leagues.” (Guardian)

“When Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston extolled the virtues of shareholder democracy over supporter-led democratic ownership at his club’s recent annual general meeting, he could never have imagined how utterly his arguments would be undermined by other events during the meeting. Not even the latest shenanigans (for that is what they are) at Watford could provide such a compelling manifestation of the flaws of such a system, although even as I type they are trying very hard.” (twohundredpercent)

“The UEFA Champions League draw in Nyon, Switzerland, today could throw up some tantalizing storylines: just don’t expect a surprise ending. The prospect of David Beckham returning to Old Trafford with AC Milan, or Carlo Ancelotti heading back to the San Siro with new employers Chelsea will lend intrigue to the knockout-round match-ups, but whatever the outcome of the draw, look for England’s dominance of the tournament to continue.” (WSJ)

“Right, time to take it upon myself to cheer up Derby County fans because the second coming of Clough was supposed to point to more promising things than being 17th in the second tier and below the likes of, well, us. It might be something of a cliché but there is genuine potential for a club like County. They appear to have happened on upon one of the more down to earth of club owners and of course continue to attract significant crowds to Pride Park regardless of league form. And then of course, there is the precendent of history.” (Viva Rovers)

“Lionel Messi struck an extra-time winner as Barcelona fought back from the brink against Estudiantes to win the Club World Cup and complete an incredible year with a sixth piece of silverware. Barca’s hopes of adding a maiden Club World Cup crown to their Primera Division, Champions League, Copa del Rey and European and Spanish Super Cup titles looked to have been crushed as Argentinians Estudiantes led heading into the final minutes thanks to Mauro Boselli’s 37th-minute header in Abu Dhabi.” (ESPN)

FC Barcelona Defeats Estudiantes 1-2 – Video
“SFS has taken this impressive photo from Spanish sports daily ‘Marca’ to celebrate with all FC BARCELONA fans around the World a historic 1-2 victory over Argentine team ESTUDIANTES DE LA PLATA to take the FIFA WORLD CLUBS CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE 2009.” (Spanish Football Sports)

“Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez suffered a disastrous trip to Portsmouth after Javier Mascherano was dismissed during a miserable defeat at Fratton Park. Pompey’s victory, with the goals coming from Nadir Belhadj and Frederic Piquionne, will ignite hope of survival in the Premier League. However, Liverpool’s chances of finishing in the top four are uncertain – they missed a chance to record back-to-back league wins for the first time since September.” (ESPN)

Portsmouth glimpse hope as win over Liverpool piles pressure on Benítez
“Just when Rafael Benítez most needed a break from scrutiny, his team hit rock-bottom away to the club bottom of the league. Benítez’s prediction last week that his side would finish in the top four come the end of this season is looking ever more out of touch with reality. The body language of the team lacked optimism as Liverpool’s big-name stars reluctantly dragged themselves about the icy pitch for much of the game, thrashing about in frustration when things did not go their way.” (Guardian)

Benitez joins opposition over ‘unfair’ scheduling
“Rafael Benitez became the latest manager to voice displeasure at fixture scheduling yesterday, complaining that Liverpool should not be facing Avram Grant’s Portsmouth away in a lunchtime kick-off in the depths of winter having played on Wednesday night.” (Independent)