http://soccercombo.com Soccer news from around the world, European football, English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, US Major League and many more. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:41:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So now we know. Ashley Cole wasn't thinking of his own selfish needs when he swerved violently across the North Circular in January 2005, raging at Arsenal's decision to offer him just £55,000 a week when he had specifically told them no less than £60,000 would do the job. No, ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/arsenal Aston Villa wing Wayne Routledge could join Championship side Cardiff City on loan. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/7739191.stm Crystal Palace take former Walsall winger Ishmel Demontagnac on trail after he was released by the Saddlers for disciplinary reasons. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/crystal_palace/7738519.stm Jonathan Wilson: Raddy Antic is working the same magic with Serbia that served him so well at Real, Atlético, Barcelona... and Luton http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2008/nov/20/serbia-worldcup2010qualifiers Fabio Capello says his first year as England boss could not have gone better after beating Germany 2-1 in Berlin. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7738656.stm Aston Villa and Arsenal to battle for £8m Defour, plus other rumours http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/7739003.stm Fabio Capello admitted last night that it would have been "impossible" for his first year in charge of England to have gone any better. England will not play again until a friendly against Spain in February, leaving Capello to reflect upon 10 games played in 2008 and only one defeat, ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/england-football-fabio-capello "Thank you for inventing the beautiful game," said a large and almost unnervingly courteous banner strung out between the two vast tiers of seats and facing the dug-outs in Berlin's showpiece stadium. The visitors, to whom it was so politely addressed, certainly started against the old enemy by playing the ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/nov/20/england-germany-football-agbonlahor England's captain, John Terry, has attempted to deflect criticism from Scott Carson by taking the blame for the embarrassing mix-up which handed Patrick Helmes an equaliser midway through the second half.Confusion reigned as Terry attempted to shield the ball from Helmes and shepherd it back to Carson only for the ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-germanyfootballteam2 It is all very well creating a circus but what of the act? The hype and hysteria surrounding Diego Maradona's arrival in Scotland was stripped away last night and the immense challenge of leading Argentina into another golden era laid bare. It was a tentative first step for a team ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/nov/20/diego-maradona-argentina Like Christmas decorations in the high street the first "Shearer for Newcastle" headlines seem to come earlier every year.Whether this is an auspicious sign for Match of the Day's most gifted Hansen-parrotter one hesitates to say but this week Rob Lee told the Newcastle fanzine, The Mag, that Shearer was ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/nov/20/newcastleunited-premierleague Arsenal are expected to confirm today that Theo Walcott requires corrective surgery on the shoulder he dislocated while training at the Olympic stadium in preparation for England's friendly against Germany, with Arsène Wenger, his club manager, saying last night that the winger will be out for "at least three months". ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-arsenal It has just been reported, with a degree of schadenfreude, that Manchester City's Brazilian star Robson de Souza ("Robinho") has been spotted on a bus. A bus! The £140,000-odd-a-week footballer paid £6 for himself and his girlfriend to travel from central Manchester to the Trafford Centre and back again; passengers ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/robinho-bus-shortcuts David James 6Punched Piotr Trochowski's free-kick away to show his quality having suffered jitters early on, such as when the winger crossed low into the box and prompted a weak punch. Not entirely reassuring, but rarely tested. Glen Johnson 8One fine sliding challenge on Trochowski set the early tone and ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-germanyfootballteam1 Martin Hansson, the referee in Liverpool's Champions League game against Atlético Madrid a fortnight ago, has revealed he received death threats over his decision to award a late penalty to Steven Gerrard. The Swede gave a spot-kick in the final minute of stoppage time for what he perceived to be ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/liverpool-atleticomadrid Roque Santa Cruz is keen to leave Blackburn Rovers and accept Manchester City's offer to sign for them in the January transfer window. Santa Cruz has become restless at Blackburn during a slump that has seen them drop into the relegation places, and the Paraguay international striker has told people ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/santa-cruz-manchester-city-blackburn Joe Kinnear will ask Mike Ashley for a contract extension until the end of the season when he meets Newcastle United's owner on Saturday. The club's interim manager is pencilled in for a chat following the game at Chelsea, and also intends to request funds for the January transfer window.That ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/newcastleunited-premierleague Calling for an end to international friendlies is like campaigning for a clean-shaven Santa Claus. Why bother? It will not happen any time soon and for pretty much the same reasons as Father Christmas is not about to undergo a makeover - it would upset the children, or at least ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-scotlandfootballteam Argentina boss Diego Maradona says his side were worthy of their victory over Scotland at Hampden. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7738866.stm The Argentina manager admires some ladies, visits Fantasy Island and joins up with the highway patrol http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/gallery/2008/nov/19/diego-maradona BRASILIA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Brazil gave beleaguered coach Dunga some respite on Wednesday by thumping Portugal 6-2 in a friendly, helped by a hat-trick from striker Luis Fabiano. http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKWorldFootballNews/~3/QPdwPfJmY78/B444628.php Scotland manager George Burley feels his side were given a good workout in the 1-0 defeat to Argentina at Hampden. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7735720.stm A disappointing night for Northern Ireland ended in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Hungary, Sandor Torghelle and Zoltan Gera the scorers http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/northernirelandfootballteam-hungary Shay Given says poor defending led to the Republic of Ireland's 3-2 home friendly defeat by Poland. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7738676.stm Giovanni Trapattoni experienced defeat for the first time as the Republic of Ireland's manager as his team were second best in too many departments to an attractive Poland.The Italian tried to extract positives such as the lively full debut of the Hull City striker Caleb Folan but the result was ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/republicofirelandfootballteam-poland Craig Bellamy scored his 16th international goal with less than fifteen minutes to go to give Wales a 1-0 win in Copenhagen http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/walesfootballteam-denmark It is debatable whether or not this was money well spent by the Scottish FA. A reported figure of £800,000 brought Argentina and Diego Maradona; the visitors had rendered what can be a raucous venue at times about as noisy as a library before many fans had even taken their ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/scotlandfootballteam-argentina There is much here in which England deserve to revel, but the most gratifying aspect of all must be that they did not let Germany limit them to a galling draw. While a misunderstanding between the captain John Terry and the substitute goalkeeper Scott Carson allowed an equaliser, the visitors ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-germanyfootballteam GLASGOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Argentina did enough to dispel memories of their poor recent form in a 1-0 friendly victory over Scotland on Wednesday, coach Diego Maradona said after his first match in charge of the team. http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKWorldFootballNews/~3/pDzfBq4wnak/LJ598828.php Giovanni Trapattoni's unbeaten run as Republic of Ireland manager is ended as Poland hold on to win in a frantic finish at Croke Park. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7738673.stm Barney Ronay: England's balanced and energetic performance allowed Fabio Capello's revolution to encompass even the much-maligned international friendly http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2008/nov/19/englandfootballteam-germanyfootballteam Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington says his players are not fit enough as they lose at home to Hungary. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7736481.stm An early goal by Maxi Rodriguez gives Diego Maradona's Argentina victory over Scotland at Hampden. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7731484.stm John Toshack praises his young Wales side after beating Denmark 1-0. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7732373.stm England skipper John Terry gets a late winner to give Fabio Capello's side a fully-deserved 2-1 victory in Germany. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7737012.stm Northern Ireland fall to a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Hungary in a friendly game at Windsor Park. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7737385.stm Craig Bellamy strikes in the second half to earn Wales victory in Denmark. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7731728.stm GLASGOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Argentina took only eight minutes to score the goal that gave Diego Maradona a winning start as coach with a 1-0 victory over Scotland in a friendly on Wednesday. http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKWorldFootballNews/~3/kISDcn6Itq8/LJ105092.php Arsenal winger Theo Walcott will have surgery on his shoulder and miss the next seven-to-eight weeks, BBC Sport understands. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7736641.stm England, Wales and Northern Ireland are in international friendly action on Wednesday while Maradona-mania hits Glasgow as Scotland host Argentina. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7737991.stm Portsmouth chairman Peter Storrie dismisses suggestions that changes to the club's plans for a new stadium will jeopardise the project. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7738421.stm Wolves goalkeeper Matt Murray admits it could be some time before he wins his place back at Molineux. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/7738321.stm The official who awarded Steven Gerrard a late penalty in the Champions League game against Atlético Madrid says he has received threats against his life http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/19/liverpool-atleticomadrid-referee-deaththreats The official who awarded Steven Gerrard a late penalty in the Champions League game against Atlético Madrid says he has received threats against his life http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/19/liverpool-atleticomadrid-referee-deaththreats There are a host of international matches taking place on Wednesday evening. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/football/internationals/live_scores/default.stm Crewe striker Tom Pope says the Alex players must take responsibility for the departure of first-team coach Steve Holland. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/crewe_alexandra/7737366.stm Former Blackburn striker Matt Jansen says he has found the hunger again to reignite his playing career. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/7737743.stm Hull boss Phil Brown is fined £1,000 and warned about his future conduct after admitting an improper conduct charge. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/7737800.stm Former Portuguese international Paolo Sousa is the new manager of QPR and has signed a contract that runs until 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/19/qpr-paolo-sousa-championship-briatore-football Former Brazil striker Ronaldo admits he could retire, despite fighting back from a serious knee injury. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/europe/7737527.stm