Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has told the rest of the Premier League that Spanish International striker Fernando Torres will only get better for the Merseyside club.

Benitez has revealed that the 24-year-old is yet to reach full fitness after a summer which saw the former Atletico Madrid forward win EURO 2008 with Spain, but return to Anfield with a slight hamstring problem. Click to continue reading...

Rafa Benitez insists that Liverpool are taking one game at a time and not getting carried away by the good start they have got off to this season, as the Reds prepare to take on new-entrants Stoke City in the Premiership at Anfield on Saturday.

The Merseysiders boosted their confidence and self-belief as the real contenders for the title this season with a victory against their bitterest rivals and defending champions Manchester United before winning the UEFA Champions League group opener in Marseille in midweek. Click to continue reading...

After having fallen behind in the first minute of the bronze medal match at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, Argentina's Blind Futsal team fought back to claim the medal on penalties after a 1-1 draw during the standard 50 minutes on Wednesday. After the early Spanish goal, the Murciélagos struggled to find their rhythm, but in the [. Click to continue reading...

Argentina's blind football team played their second match of the Paralympic Games on Tuesday, and followed up their convincing 2-0 win over European champions Spain with a 1-0 loss to the hosts. China, who've been playing behind closed doors for the last three years, served notice of their intention to shock the Games by beating [. Click to continue reading...

EAI's Victims Need Our Help

We know a lot about football you and me. We know that Brazil isn't what it used to be, that the MLS is woefully overrated at the moment (which is saying a lot), that Middlesborough are this season's Aston Villa, that Manchester City will still never win anything, and we know that England will never play attractive football again. Click to continue reading...

With the Paralympic Games in Beijing now underway, the Argentine futsal side which won the Blind World Cup in Buenos Aires in 2006 are setting out to emulate the pros who took Olympic gold a couple of weeks ago, and began their campaign by beating European champions Spain 2-0. Silvio Velo, known since the World [. Click to continue reading...

Hmmm. Here's a question for you. Who would you less like to see on a football pitch?

(a) Chelsea and Serbia defender Slobodan Rajkovic, banned for one year for spitting at a referee during the Olympic Games

(b) Newcastle and England midfielder Joey Barton, banned for six matches for violently assualting a team-mate, leaving him with a suspected detached retina, cuts and bruises "looking like the Elephant Man"

Someone at FIFA probably needs to sit down, have a look at these two cases and have a sensible think about their sentencing process for football offences. Click to continue reading...

After the delusion that was the Olympic games, the Azzurrini returned to the pitch to continue qualifying for the UEFA 2009 U21 Championships. The big story was the debut of Mario Balotelli, who after receiving Italian citizenship a few weeks ago was finally eligible to be called up. The Azzurrini needed a win to guarantee first place in the qualifying group, but anything less meant they would have to conquer qualification on Tuesday in Croatia.

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It seems like Jesus Padilla keeps modifying his history. First he was born in Mexico, but raised almost entirely in the U.S., then he accepted that he was born in the U.S., but maintained that it was only for a little while, saying he was basically raised in Mexico. Now it's a combination. Try to keep track of it all. Click to continue reading...

I don't really know too much about either player that Liverpool and Everton signed on the transfer deadline day, but I'll give my comments based upon what I've read.

Liverpool seemed to get the player they wanted in Albert Riera, a left winger who should provide a lot of ammunition for Fernando Torres, Robbie Keane, and the rest of Liverpool's goal scorers. Click to continue reading...

As first games go, this is about as good as you can get.

Valencia crushed Real Mallorca 3-0 at the Mestalla on Saturday night in the opening match of the new season. If you compare this to last season's shenanigans, a 3-0 defeat to Villarreal, we're doing ok.

The Basque Kevin Costner Unai Emery (I hear Gol TV used that line in their game commentary?

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In 2008, Australian sport has undergone turmoil. Basketball hit the wall with at least 3 teams disappearing. Women's basketball struggled against the rise of trans-tasman netball. CEO John O'Neil declared rugby union financial dead and 'boring'. Rugby league has 'grabbed the table' in its 100th year, with fans and players deserting on mass, and government redirecting money away. Click to continue reading...

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BBC Interview: Ecclestone - on the Olympics, F1 and QPR
"Bernie Ecclestone tells Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek he believes London has a very hard act to follow in staging the Olympic Games after the success of Beijing." Audio [Complete audio 11 minutes]
Most of the interview consists Ecclestone talking about the 2012 London Olympics (and the China Olympics) and Formula One racing and Max Mosley. Click to continue reading...

Reports in some of today's papers claim that Sir Alex Ferguson has accepted the job of managing the Great Britain football team in London's 2012 Olympic Games. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has urged Great Britain to organise a football team, but the fear that Scotland, England and Wales would have to enter all competitions as a [. Click to continue reading...

Here is a link to an interesting article that Jozy Altidore has written for the New York Times. It describes the whirlwind of experiences that he is having going from playing in the recent Olympic games to playing for his new club Villareal. Jozy is trying to secure a place within the team as a regular forward and I wish him well. Click to continue reading...

According to Soccer by Ives, and confirmed by various sources, Dutch side FC Twente is considering making an offer to MLS for Chivas USA and United States national team midfielder Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan's play during the Olympic games opened the eyes of many european scouts. Click to continue reading...

Hundreds of millions of online viewers watched the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games across an extensive range of digital media platforms, according to an International Olympic Committee press release. Click to continue reading...

Predictions are here.

I tell you what, never mind how good he is as a footballer (and rather weirdly, he's just been named by UEFA as Europe's Best Midfielder...), check out Frank Lampard's thoughts on the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing, as published on the Chelsea official website:

"In general I liked the American Michael Phelps, who was a standout for dominating the swimming, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was amazing to watch with his world records"

With incisive, penetrating analysis like that, it's clear that Fat Frank is going to be a shoe-in for the sofa on Match of the Day. Click to continue reading...

81972852DM091_Olympics_Day_
Originally uploaded by azzurri_nr1 Una de las imagenes menos esperadas de los Juegos olímpicos fue la visita de Diego Armando Maradona y aun menos esperada que besara la mano de Ronaldinho.
A final de cuentas el yerno de Diego el Kun Aguero junto con Messi le ganaron la partida al carioca. Click to continue reading...

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BBC -Flowers not happy despite victory
QPR assistant manager Tim Flowers insists the team still have a lot to work on despite their 4-0 thrashing of Carlisle in the Carling Cup.
Flowers told BBC London 94.9: "Speaking as a defensive player I was not happy with us. Click to continue reading...

The discussion before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing began largely centered around Brazil's quest for their first ever Olympic title. The question of how the Olympic gold medal could escape the most successful and internationally recognised football nation of all time was one which was frequently asked in the build-up to the games, and one which would often baffle. Click to continue reading...

David Beckham, despite his bust schedule, was at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. During the closing ceremonies held at the National Stadium "Birds Nest" - August 24, 2008. Beckham was passed the Olympic Torch to bring back to England, signifying the passing on of the eternal flame for the next games [. Click to continue reading...

David Beckham, despite his bust schedule, was at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. During the closing ceremonies held at the National Stadium "Birds Nest" - August 24, 2008. Beckham was passed the Olympic Torch to bring back to England, signifying the passing on of the eternal flame for the next games [. Click to continue reading...

Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 to capture the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games. Argentina was my pick, and the favorite of many to win the gold at these Olympic games, and they didn't disappoint.  Angel di Maria scored for Argentina in the 58th minute off a great through ball from Lionel Messi. Messi wasn't able to score in the game, but was key to every attacking chance Argentina had in the game Click to continue reading...

Four years ago it was Carlos Tevez, on Saturday Benfica's Angel Di María secured his place in Argentine football history by becoming the second man to score a gold medal-winning goal for his country in the Olympic Football Tournament. In a final played in scorching heat in the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing, Argentina rode [. Click to continue reading...

In a couple of hours' time, Argentina will be going for a second gold medal of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games when the men's football team take on Nigeria, their conquerors in Atlanta 1996, in the OFT final. Argentina are seeking to defend their title, having demolished arch-rivals Brazil 3-0 in the semi, with Liverpool [. Click to continue reading...

I live for World Cups, synchronizing my mind, body and wallet into a four-year cycle. So when soccer plays second string to anything else sporting, as it is at the moment, my brow furrows. While the Olympic Games cannot hold a candle to the World Cup for FANaticism, I still enjoy it, especially as my country is currently burning the opposition to take ‘gold', behind the superpowers of China and Click to continue reading...

The Olympic Games have been a real disappointment. The only event that I was desperate to watch was the diving, but it turned out to be a few lunatics jumping into a pool. My tissues did come in handy when Paula Radcliffe limped over the line in the marathon - that was pure comedy gold. Britain [... Click to continue reading...

-Team Brazil warms up at a stadium in Beijing, China.- National football (soccer) teams Brazil and Belgium, will play for the Bronze medal during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The match will be held at the Shanghai Stadium @ 7pm August 22, 2008. Also, don't forget about the match between Argentina and [. Click to continue reading...

-Team Brazil warms up at a stadium in Beijing, China.- National football (soccer) teams Brazil and Belgium, will play for the Bronze medal during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The match will be held at the Shanghai Stadium @ 7pm August 22, 2008. Also, don't forget about the match between Argentina and [. Click to continue reading...

The United States women's team celebrate their victory over Brazil for the Gold medal in 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic team included Hope Solo, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone, Lindsay Tarpley, Shannon Boxx, Amy Rodriguez, Heather O'Reilly, Carli Loyd, Kate Margraf, Angela Hucles, and Lori Chalupny. Click to continue reading...

The United States women's team celebrate their victory over Brazil for the Gold medal in 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic team included Hope Solo, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone, Lindsay Tarpley, Shannon Boxx, Amy Rodriguez, Heather O'Reilly, Carli Loyd, Kate Margraf, Angela Hucles, and Lori Chalupny. Click to continue reading...

The United States women have just clenched the gold medal for soccer (football) during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. They defeated Brazil 1:0 in what can only be described as a passionate fight. Brazil will receive silver for their accomplishments in the games. Congratulations US Women! Image courtesy of Newscom. Click to continue reading...

Ryan Babel believes he is ready to take his game "to the next level" – with Rafael Benitez confident Liverpool will see the best of the Dutch forward this season.

Babel returned to Melwood this week after missing the start of the Premier League campaign while appearing for Holland in the Olympic Games. Click to continue reading...

-2hrs 40 min After promising to liveblog one of the Olympic games and not doing it (Damn 5 AM games), I'll be liveblogging Lippi's first game back in charge. The game starts at 2:30 and I'll be watching it on RAI International. Keep one tab on this page (You are using Firefox right?) and refresh often for updates.

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