On 5 September 2008, Senegal met Algeria at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in a World Cup qualifier. In the 81st minute, Cheikh Gueye scored an own goal which leveled the game for Algeria. 7 minutes later, Rafik Saiki stuck a dagger into Senegal by scoring the winner. Algeria won the match.

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FYI, SoccerBlog endorsed Obama a while back...

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Brand resigned today from his BBC radio show following obscene calls left on the phone of Andrew Sachs that spurred outrage. The 78 year old Sachs played Manuel in Fawlty Towers. Russell Brand and Barack Obama are both West Ham fans. Inquiring minds want to know if Obama wants to continue to associate with a known perv who supports the same club.

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While serving overseas with the U.S. Army, PFC Mardaras recognized the Iraqi children's love of soccer, even though they were playing with tin cans and rocks. Madaras asked his family to send him a few balls so he could distribute them to the children in Baqubah; however, he never got the chance to do this.

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The National Soccer Hall of Fame has added a 2008 U.S. Open Cup display to honor United as the tournament's most recent champion. Luciano Emilio's game-worn and autographed jersey, Fred's game-worn and autographed shoes and the game ball signed by the entire team flanks the Dewar Challenge Trophy with a newly minted 2008 champion's plate.

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Man City's new paymasters live here

In the match that shall be known as the filthy rich clubs with the GDP of a small country derby, Chelsea schooled Man City. But there were some moments of beauty like Robinho's free kick and some great interlinking play that was evocative of a Brazilian heritage which might lead Mark Hughes to don a tie and a thong and make a beeline for the carnaval.

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Today the American soccer community mourns the loss of one of it's true icons with the midweek discovery that Shep Messing's mustache is dead. This unexpected loss was first made public by Mr. Messing when he appeared on the set of episode 67 of ExtraTime without what one female acquaintance remembers as "the most enjoyable ride in New York that isn't at Coney Island. Click to continue reading...

I have breaking news for you. I figured I'd pass along this update after attending last night's New England Soccer Hall of Fame meeting.

The induction ceremony is slated for November 1st at the Riviera Inn in East Providence. Among the nominees are Derek Rae (ESPN soccer broadcaster) and Jeff Causey (New England Revolution 1997-2001). Click to continue reading...

Two posts in one day? What the heck?

Well, all I can say for myself besides the usual litany of excuses (work, school, sleep, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2) is that I've been inspired. Yes. By what, you ask (or may want to ask)?

Well, ask one of my readers (not that there are many), friends, family, and professors, and they will tell you the same thing about me(besides the fact that I drink too much caffeine): Jeez, that dude likes to write. Click to continue reading...

What is the football (soccer) equivalent of Michael Phelps historic 8 medal haul?He has joined the pantheon of sporting legends all right but who in the history of football has done something similar?I wish I could hazard a guess but my knowledge of the history of football just about extends to the fact that I have a vague memory that the last post I posted on this blog was about Fernando Torres scoring a goal for Liverpool.

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It's not often you get to hear a different voice than mine in this space, but a soccer fan I know asked for the floor, and I thought he had a good take on the topic of the National Soccer Hall of Fame (something I've written about before). Dave Wasser is one of the good [...] Click to continue reading...

Back in May I had the pleasure of going to Wembley Stadium and seeing England play against the U.S., which of course ended in a 2 - 0 victory for England. Sitting their at Wembley and knowing how important it is to the English players and fans to go and see their national team play at this magnificent stadium it made me think about the disadvantage that the U. Click to continue reading...

Of all the players missing from the Turkish squad, Tuncay Sanli's absence hurts more than others. The Middlesbrough striker has been the catalyst and the motivator par excellence for all the Turkish comebacks.

Against a German side ready to exploit their physical play against the more diminutive Turkish side, Tuncay would have brought his strength and pace to cause problems down the flanks and up the middle.

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All eyes are on Basel in Switzerland as Euro 2008 gets underway in a few hours.Venezuela took the opportunity to slip two goals past Brazil while they were thus distracted.It was the first time that they have ever managed to do anything of that nature - never having won in any of their 17 previous encounters.

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Well, Man U should be up 3-0.

Instead, we have them tied at 1-1.

Ronaldo and Rooney looked great on a field-long combination, but blow the chance at goal. Tevez also misses a sitter. Ouch.

Lampard's junk-yard goal at the end keeps Chelsea in the game. Ugly, but effective.

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(Summary is not available.) Click to continue reading...

51 year old Tommy Burns lost his battle against cancer. Burns spent 15 years as a player at Parkhead, making 352 appearances for the Hoops between 1975 and 1989, scoring 52 goals.
He managed the club for three seasons between 1994 and 1997, winning the 1995 Scottish FA Cup.

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Gordon Bradley, who coached Pele and Johan Cruyff in the North American Soccer League died on tuesday in Manassas He was 74.
Signed for New York Generals in 1968 as a player and assistant coach to Freddie Goodwin, Bradley went on to become one of the best known and most popular coaches in the NASL.

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And the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year for the second successive season is Cristiano Ronaldo.The young player of the year award went to Cesc Fabregas.A look at the PFA winners from 1974 to 2008 here....

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It might take a miracle for Joe-Max Moore to make the list of inductees for this year's National Soccer Hall of Fame enshrinement.

Although he gained an impressive 48.2% of the vote during his first year on the ballot, Moore will be hard-pressed to make the cut this year. Stacked against fellow repeat nominees Marco Etcheverry and Carlos Valderrama and newcomers Preki and Ernie Stewart, Moore will likely have to wait at least another year before becoming the second Revolution player to be fitted for a scarlet jacket (Alexi Lalas being the first in 2006). Click to continue reading...

Corinthians greatest striker will be part of the celebrations

Corinthians, relegated to Division B, play their 5000th game against Braga at the Morumbi today. The club was founded in 1910.

In a special celebration the club will honour its stars. Biro-Biro, Neto, Sócrates, Zé Maria, Tião, Marcelinho Carioca, Geraldão, Basílio, Mauro, Vaguinho, Wilson Mano, Ronaldo, Zenon and Wladimir.

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A minute silence was observed by 76,000 fans at Old Trafford before the start of the Manchester derby to honour those killed on Flight 609. It went of without incident, as traveling City fans once feared as spoilers, paid their respects without fuss. They had come to pay homage to one of their own heroes.

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I actually do have better things to do than to nitpick my reportorial betters. Just not this morning. Michael Lewis - you know, this is the second consecutive post where I'm ticky-tacking on a column I generally agree with, I need a hobby. However: These players [Goose, Preki, Fawcett, Fraser, Earnie] can be considered leading contenders and [. Click to continue reading...

With this penalty, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o Fils, three-time African Footballer of the Year, scored his 14th cup of nations goal to match the record set by Laurent Pokou of the Ivory Coast back in 1968.

Eto'o has competed at the Cup of Nations for eight years now for Cameroon, his home country, and has won the competition twice.

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Here are the bios of the players up for the Writers Were Too Stupid Too Recognize Their Greatness award. Click to continue reading...

Seemed to warrant a separate post. This Soccer Hall page has a couple of articles about underappreciated US victories of the past, and the anniversary of Bethlehem Steel (I believe I linked to this a while ago, but it's still informative). Click to continue reading...

Great game. Theatrical and nail biting. Chelsea is down through two early Shaun Maloney goals. Phil Dowd very harshly red cards Zat Knight as Villa are reduced to ten men. Chelsea claw their way back with Sheva's double and then finally take the lead through Alex's goal. But Martin Laursen guides a beautifully swinging Ashley Young free kick past Petr Cech and parity is restored.

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Roger Allaway replaces Colin Jose as Soccer Hall of Fame historian. Jose was the guy who effectively rediscovered the American Soccer League of the 1920's - the game's equivalent of the Lost Continent of Atlantis. I'm paraphrasing the story here, but Jose was looking through Open Cup winners, saw a bunch of teams [...] Click to continue reading...

But congratulations to Mia and Julie anyway. Click to continue reading...

Horrible refereeing decisions have marked the beginning of the Premiership and it does not seem as if mere suspensions will rectify this situation. The game has quickened beyond the human eye to make timely adjustments and the stakes have gotten much higher.

A decision that can cost a club threading a fine line between relegation and staying afloat in the Premiership or a CL position or the ultimate goal of a Premiership.

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Oh! No. Fabregas gets a finely threaded pass by Hleb, instinctively thinks about passing, but then decides to have a go. His angled shot beat a Schmeichel who till then looked like he was going to go another game without conceding a goal.

It was the best decision for goal in a long time for Arsenal who should have gone up a goal with RVP's penalty kick.

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Now that Jaime Moreno has broken Kreis' all-time MLS scoring record (congrats), and seeing that Ante Razov will probably do the same either this year or next, it's interesting to note how little MLS records seem to matter. Click to continue reading...

Benfica breaks the Liga stranglehold on the CL and launches its golden period with great players like Eusebio and Mario Coluna. This was a very entertaining final with great soccer played by both sides.

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Amazing footage from the Beeb which shows the rituals of the Kop tribe. A great moment as they go onto crush Arsenal, 5-0. This was the year that Phil Chisnall made his Anfield debut also against Arsenal. It was also the first MOTD.

Apparently, he did not do much in the three seasons at Liverpool making just 9 appearances and scoring two goals before being traded to Southend.

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