The Rojiblancos had been reverting to dirty tactics in an attempt to stop the Barca man throughout the game. No surprises then when Messi drew a foul in the penalty area five minutes into the second half.

Again great link-up play between Alves and Madhur matka Messi saw the Brazilian full-back slip a ball into the box for his team-mate. Before Messi had a chance to convert the centre he was pulled down by Dutchman Johnny Heitinga.

Referee Gonzalez had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and sending Heitinga off for an early bath. Meanwhile Messi dusted himself off and slotted home the penalty, sending Coupet the wrong way in the process.

The Vicente Calderon crowd made their feelings clear to the home side with jeers and whistles. This proved a much needed spur to the hosts as they mustered a reply shortly after Barca had taken a 2-0 lead.

Substitute Ujfalusi found room to meet Simao’s corner and nodded it behind Pinto to reduce los Colchoneros’ deficit to a single goal once again.

skinned two defenders and thumped the ball past Coupet once more. This time he was denied by the crossbar.

Moments later the mercurial talent received the ball in the box with the game entering the final 10 minutes. Instant control allowed him to dribble around the keeper and poke the ball in the empty net and claim the match ball

Atletico fans were able to put the disappointment of their own team’s showing aside for a second and give La Pulga an enthusiastic ovation when he was subbed shortly after completing his hat-trick.

This sentiment for a phenomenal exhibition of skill was shared by the on looking Argentina national coach, Diego Maradona.

The 3-1 win gives Barcelona their 21st victory in 26 games in all competitions for the season. The Catalan’s are 11 points clear in La Liga and bookie’s favourites to win the Champions League again.

However, coach Pep Guardiola’s was quick to play down his role in Barcelona’s impressive start to the season.

Tomas sustituirá a Robert Kovac en la zaga

Stjepan Tomas será el reemplazo para el sancionado Robert Kovac en el centro de la zaga croata, mientras que Igor Tudor quedará en su posición del centrocampista defensivo, ha anunciado el seleccionador croata Zlatko Kranjcar.

Dario Simic, el nuevo recordman en el número de Satta result presencias en la selección croata con 82 presencias, retrasará un poco su posición y actuará de libre.

* Pendientes de si mismos…y de Japón

Después del empate con Japón, Croacia no desespera ya que ni siquiera una victoria por la mínima ante los niponeses le habría liberado del imperativo de ganar a Australia.

Por otro lado, un sencillo 1-0 contra los “hermanos” australianos podría bastarle a los adriáticos ya que es difícil esperar que Japón gane a Brasil por dos o más goles de diferencia.

Australia por otro lado se clasificará ganando o empatando si Japón no supera por dos o más goles a Brasil – algo poco probable aunque los pentacampeones ya se han clasificado para los octavos.

One man and his log

One man and his log

Sunday 18th June Mannheim. Leipzig

My last memories of seeing Korea were dashing from the stadium in Daejon as fireworks lit up the sky and 40,000 Koreans went crazy after they defeated Italy. Arriving in the early hours back in Seoul the whole city was out on the streets celebrating. Moving on four years and a lot of those present then have caught football fever and they are over here in Germany. I didn’t realise the relevance back in 2002 but I now suppose that the country’s name is derived from its passion for choreography.

In Leipzig town centre two troupes entertained the “reds” gathered and encouraged everyone to join in their singing and dancing routines. Before each song the words were clearly recited and the dance moves to be used were demonstrated to all those present so they could join in. Those present to a man (well almost) joined in the festivities.

At the stadium the same organisation was shown as they displayed a banner with a message (sorry it was in Korean) and then for the anthem unfurled the national flag, which they then swayed from side to side. At the other side of the stadium another flag was unfurled and I could swear it was swaying in time with the other flag. Throughout the game the coordinators of this support could be seen giving orders as to what was to happen next and the provided a wall of sound that continued throughout the game, no matter how their team were faring.

The fans appeared to be an inspiration to their side who grew stronger as the game wore on, and rewarded their enthusiasm with a late equaliser. Definitely the best supporters of the tournament.

Buy South Korean soccer jerseys

The FIFA stadium announcer was delighted to announce once again that the World Cup Stadium was “Sold Out”. This announcement was greeted with ironic cheers as seats were clearly visible around the Saudi fans. Despite the fact that Emirates Airlines gave free tickets to passengers and the Saudi Embassy gave tickets to people who applied for visas. The situation was similar at other games I have attended most notably Italy v Ghana and last night at France v Korea.

The Germans take great pride in announcing games as “ausverkauft” and in the press they state this along with the attendance for their Bundesliga games. FIFA seem determined to announce that this World Cup is a resounding success and will point to the highest ever % attendance to back up their point. (Surely the Costa Rica v Poland game will not be fully attended as it clashes with the Germany v Ecuador game and a lot of Poles have already gone home.)

But the damage has been done. Allocating more tickets to sponsors than the competing teams has alienated the real fans and the atmosphere is Indian Matka rsuffering. The difficulty supporters have encountered in obtaining tickets has left a bad taste when they see the empty seats.

Regularly after the half time interval vast banks of seats can be seen empty as those in corporate hospitality do their best to get value for money as they gorge themselves on freebies. How long is it before FIFA announce that the half time break will be extended to allow hospitality guests to get through 3 courses before the second half can resume?

The news that 1,700 tickets were not returned by sponsors for one game resulted in a message to be sent out asking for all sponsors to ensure that any unused tickets they have are returned in order that they can be resold.

As a result of this I am aware that at the Togo v Switzerland game an employee of a German sports shoes company sold 25 tickets outside the stadium at face value. Actions like this are too little and too late.

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