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Manchester United can beat Arsenal and Chelsea, says Sir Alex Ferguson

• Record 19th title in sight after 1-0 defeat of Everton
• 'I told players to just win games' against two other contenders



  • Tim Rich at Old Trafford
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 April 2011 22.01 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Javier-Hern-ndez-007.jpg
    Sir Alex Ferguson says Javier Hernández, pictured scoring the winner against Everton, is 'special'. 'We did not expect this kind of return' in his first season, said the Manchester United manager. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images

    Sir Alex Ferguson said there was no reason why a record 19th championship could not be wrapped up inside a couple of weeks after Manchester United secured a late 1-0 victory over Everton.
    United need seven points from their four remaining fixtures to guarantee the title but Ferguson was irked by suggestions that, because their next two league games are against Arsenal and Chelsea, the two London teams still have a chance of overhauling them.
    "The thing that puzzles me is that people keep saying we still have to play Arsenal and Chelsea and they talk about these games as if we are going to lose them," the Manchester United manager said after Everton's defensive resilience was broken by Javier Hernández's 83rd-minute header.
    "Why can't we win these games? Why can't we go to the Emirates Stadium and win, as we have done previously? I told the players to forget about all that nonsense and just win their games."
    Manchester United have won their last two games at the Emirates, where they go next Sunday, and should they overcome Arsenal and beat Chelsea, Ferguson will lift the 12th Premier League title of his career on 8 May.
    Of those dozen championships, this is likely to draw the least acclaim with United producing few performances that would disprove the charge by the Marseille manager, Didier Deschamps, that this is a team "that lacks fantasy".
    Nevertheless, Ferguson paid tribute to a side who have dropped only two points at Old Trafford all season and have now snatched half a dozen victories in the final 10 minutes.
    "There is that winning attitude about them," he said. "We will keep our heads down and not get carried away. There are only four games left and the way they are going about their business and the effort they have shown, it gives them an outstanding chance of being champions. You can test people's character but they keep coming through.
    "We had some great openings and could have had this match finished by half-time but it is in the traditions of Manchester United that we don't do that. We always wait until the very end and keep everyone high on the edge of their seats but we get there."
    Ferguson appeared agitated on the touchline, complaining about what he regarded as Everton's time-wasting and arguing that they should not have been allowed the five minutes of stoppage time that produced. The manager said he was confident a goal would come.
    "I could feel it coming," he said of a match that produced no injury issues before Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Schalke. "We had the momentum and the crowd was up. When the crowd gets going at Old Trafford they suck the ball in. It was a tight game and some of Everton's defending was fantastic.
    "We had shots blocked near the line and their goalkeeper made two or three great saves. You say to yourself: 'It's going to be a late one' but you can just smell the history of the club when it comes to scoring late and so it was here.
    "The important thing is that we never gave up; we took gambles and we took risks. We put Wayne Rooney in the middle of the pitch and we brought Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs on." Hernández's goal was his 19th in his first season in the English game – as many as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in his first season at Old Trafford.
    "We did not expect this kind of return," Ferguson said. "We thought his first year would be an introduction to the club; getting him adapted to English football and strengthening him up. But he has done all these things and more. He is special."
 
Boxers to train ahead of Games




By Joseph Mchekadona



23rd April 2011




Tanzania national boxing team is expected to engage in off campus training in Dare s salaam under their Cuban coach Pimentel Hurtado early next month.
The training is aimed at polishing skills of the boxers ahead of the September's All Africa Games in Maputo.
The Boxing Federation of Tanzania's secretary general (BFT) Mashaga Makore said the non residential camp will be at the National Indoor Stadium.
The Cuban coach Hurtado has called all national team boxers to get prepared for the training sessions.
The coach said the final squad for Maputo will be selected through merit particularly for those who would work hard during the training.
Makore said the early preparations will help the coach to select a team which can win medals at the Games.
"We are very serious this time around we want to have a good team which can perform wonders in Mozambique," he said
He said that the coach has told him that experience and discipline would be among the key factors in selection of boxers for the Maputo Games.
"The national team is very serious on discipline and experience and the coach said openly to select boxers who will exhibit the above mentioned qualities," said Mashaga.
However, the BFT official bemoaned of lack of sponsorship for the team, as the federation has dry coffers to meet expenditures for basic essentials like water and first aid kits.
Makore said BFT has communicated to various private institutions and the Governmental in relation to assistance but with no response so far.
He could not disclose the budget for the training program.
"Though we will start camping, BFT has no money to buy essentials like water and medicine. We are just hoping that some one will come to our rescue," said Makore.



SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN


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Popular presenter for Kilimanjaro Bowl tie




By The guardian reporter



23rd April 2011





Popular broadcaster Mike Carlson will call all the action from the Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha when Tanzania hosts the first game of college American Football to be played on the African continent on May 21.
Established United Kingdom's Carlson will provide commentary in the booth alongside a Swahili translator and former Notre Dame star Reggie Brooks.
The historic and unique game between Drake University from Iowa and the CONADEIP All Stars from Mexico will be broadcast live across the African continent and beamed to countries around the world by ITV (Independent Television Ltd), the largest private TV network in Tanzania.
The game kicks off at 1pm local time (US ET +7 hours).
Carlson is the regular studio analyst for American football on Channel Four and the BBC in the United Kingdom and currently commentates on Arena Football League games for Eurosport.
The Connecticut native, who is now based near London, is also the studio analyst for the BBC's coverage of the Super Bowl and the annual NFL International Series regular season game played at Wembley Stadium, where he has worked alongside NFL greats Rod Woodson, Jerry Rice, and Tiki Barber.
Carlson has covered a variety of sports on television, including baseball, basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer.
He played tight end on Wesleyan University's undefeated Lambert Cup winning football team, and was also a lacrosse teammate of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
"I am delighted to be helping to spread the appeal of American football across Africa," said Carlson. "For many years I have explained the game to audiences new to the sport, so look forward to helping those watching for the first time to understand the play on the field.
"This is certain to be an intriguing and exciting game and I look forward to being part of a unique multi-lingual broadcast. It will be the first time my words have ever been translated into Swahili and I'm hoping we will be able to entertain this diverse audience in both languages."
Former Notre Dame running back Reggie Brooks will be among the studio guests for the live telecast and will offer color commentary alongside Carlson. Key elements of their broadcast will be translated into Swahili for the benefit of the Tanzanian audience.
Brooks played under former Irish head coach Lou Holtz from 1989-92 and earned second-team All-America status and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting after a stellar senior campaign in 1992.
He remains quite visible throughout the Notre Dame record books as his career average of 7.6 yards per rush is still a school record, while his 1,372 yards rushing in '92 rank third-best in single-season school history.
He played four seasons in the National Football League, predominantly in Washington (1993-95), after the Redskins selected him in the second round of the '93 NFL Draft (45th overall pick).
The spectacular Kili Bowl event includes a three-day service project to benefit area orphanages, and features both teams also climbing the imposing 19,341 feet high Mount Kilimanjaro.
The Arusha Hotel will serve as host for the Drake Bulldogs, media and game officials, while the Kibo Palace Hotel is hosting the CONADEIP Mexico official party.
Kilele Savane Ltd of Arusha is handling all local transport; safari coordination and the Kili climb operations.



SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN


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Chelsea's Fernando Torres steals thunder with a bolt from the blue

The £50m Spain striker ends his scoring drought at last as West Ham's brave challenge is sunk in the driving rain
Chelsea's Fernando Torres steals thunder with a bolt from the blue

The £50m Spain striker ends his scoring drought at last as West Ham's brave challenge is sunk in the driving rain



  • Fernando-Torres-of-Chelse-007.jpg
    Was there something in the air that night, Fernando? Torres milks the acclaim after his first Chelsea goal. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Action Images

    Start all the clocks, reconnect the telephone and warn the replica shirt supplier that overtime may be required. Fernando Torres has scored for Chelsea.
    Thunder, lightning, a monsoon, and Torres's first goal for Chelsea. A change in the weather, indeed. Treacherous conditions that threatened to ruin the match instead contributed to 90 minutes of almost continuous drama, culminating in a moment that will make the Spanish striker, his team-mates and their supporters believe that their season is not dead. If Torres could score after 13 barren appearances in the blue No9 shirt, anything can happen.
    Torres came on to replace Didier Drogba in the 76th minute, and almost everything he did thereafter was impressive. With his first touch he squared the ball neatly for Nicolas Anelka, his fellow substitute, whose shot was blocked on the line by Danny Gabbidon. The next thing the Spaniard did was score, haring into the penalty area on a diagonal path and readjusting quite brilliantly when the ball stuck on the waterlogged pitch, turning back to guide a left-footed shot past Green's right hand. And in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time his pass from the right, misread by Anelka, rolled through to Florent Malouda, whose drive completed the victory.
    A couple of minutes before the interval, just as Frank Lampard was receiving the congratulations of his colleagues for giving Chelsea the lead, a second peal of thunder rumbled around the stadium. Some of the floodlights went out, and the rest flickered. Javier Hernández might have struck to give Manchester United a last-ditch victory three hours earlier and 200 miles away, but the fates seemed to be announcing the start of the final act in this most inscrutable of championship races.
    For the real turning point we will probably have to wait until a week on Sunday, when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford. In between times the west London side entertain Tottenham Hotspur while United visit Arsenal. The match in Manchester on 8 May is likely to take place on a knife-edge.
    Saturday's fixture, staged between two teams experiencing very different kinds of desperation, should not have required the attention of the special effects department. But a torrential downpour provided the overture, and the first crack of thunder marked the end of an inconclusive opening half-hour and the intensifying of the contest.
    Once again Torres was left on the bench &#8211; for the sixth time in the last seven league matches &#8211; with the manager, Carlo Ancelotti, preferring the all-Ivorian partnership of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, the younger of the pair having scored in Chelsea's last two matches, against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion.
    After several days of baking heat, the rain began to fall a couple of minutes before the kick-off, coming down in big summer droplets and with such density that the players were soon sploshing around with an air of suppressed anxiety, as if uncertain whether a pass was going to stop dead or skid beyond its intended recipient. Kalou should have opened the scoring in the third minute when he failed to beat Green from close range after running on to Drogba's flick, but the thunder came as West Ham were experiencing their best spell of the match and it felt like a reversal of the tide when Ashley Cole turned Drogba's perfectly weighted pass back across the goalmouth into the path of Lampard, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
    The half-time entertainment featured an appearance by Bobby Tambling, Chelsea's record scorer, whose 202 goals included a pair registered in the classic 5-5 draw between these two sides at the Bridge in December 1966. The rain had returned with even greater ferocity and poor Tambling's Chelsea umbrella immediately blew inside out, drenching the 69-year-old as he completed his lap of honour.
    The thunder rumbled again as Phil Dowd blew his whistle to start the second period, with the pitch so soaked that the construction of coherent moves became almost impossible. But the excitement never stopped building and both sides lived dangerously before Torres lit up the murk with his moment of redemption, promptly disappearing under a mass of delighted team-mates. If he and they can sustain the momentum at home to Tottenham on Saturday, they will go on to meet a Manchester United side who will have played three games &#8211; including both legs of their Champions League semi-final against Schalke &#8211; to Chelsea's one. The contest, like the £50m striker's career, is alive again.





  • Fernando-Torres-of-Chelse-007.jpg
    Was there something in the air that night, Fernando? Torres milks the acclaim after his first Chelsea goal. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Action Images

    Start all the clocks, reconnect the telephone and warn the replica shirt supplier that overtime may be required. Fernando Torres has scored for Chelsea.
    Thunder, lightning, a monsoon, and Torres's first goal for Chelsea. A change in the weather, indeed. Treacherous conditions that threatened to ruin the match instead contributed to 90 minutes of almost continuous drama, culminating in a moment that will make the Spanish striker, his team-mates and their supporters believe that their season is not dead. If Torres could score after 13 barren appearances in the blue No9 shirt, anything can happen.
    Torres came on to replace Didier Drogba in the 76th minute, and almost everything he did thereafter was impressive. With his first touch he squared the ball neatly for Nicolas Anelka, his fellow substitute, whose shot was blocked on the line by Danny Gabbidon. The next thing the Spaniard did was score, haring into the penalty area on a diagonal path and readjusting quite brilliantly when the ball stuck on the waterlogged pitch, turning back to guide a left-footed shot past Green's right hand. And in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time his pass from the right, misread by Anelka, rolled through to Florent Malouda, whose drive completed the victory.
    A couple of minutes before the interval, just as Frank Lampard was receiving the congratulations of his colleagues for giving Chelsea the lead, a second peal of thunder rumbled around the stadium. Some of the floodlights went out, and the rest flickered. Javier Hernández might have struck to give Manchester United a last-ditch victory three hours earlier and 200 miles away, but the fates seemed to be announcing the start of the final act in this most inscrutable of championship races.
    For the real turning point we will probably have to wait until a week on Sunday, when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford. In between times the west London side entertain Tottenham Hotspur while United visit Arsenal. The match in Manchester on 8 May is likely to take place on a knife-edge.
    Saturday's fixture, staged between two teams experiencing very different kinds of desperation, should not have required the attention of the special effects department. But a torrential downpour provided the overture, and the first crack of thunder marked the end of an inconclusive opening half-hour and the intensifying of the contest.
    Once again Torres was left on the bench &#8211; for the sixth time in the last seven league matches &#8211; with the manager, Carlo Ancelotti, preferring the all-Ivorian partnership of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, the younger of the pair having scored in Chelsea's last two matches, against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion.
    After several days of baking heat, the rain began to fall a couple of minutes before the kick-off, coming down in big summer droplets and with such density that the players were soon sploshing around with an air of suppressed anxiety, as if uncertain whether a pass was going to stop dead or skid beyond its intended recipient. Kalou should have opened the scoring in the third minute when he failed to beat Green from close range after running on to Drogba's flick, but the thunder came as West Ham were experiencing their best spell of the match and it felt like a reversal of the tide when Ashley Cole turned Drogba's perfectly weighted pass back across the goalmouth into the path of Lampard, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
    The half-time entertainment featured an appearance by Bobby Tambling, Chelsea's record scorer, whose 202 goals included a pair registered in the classic 5-5 draw between these two sides at the Bridge in December 1966. The rain had returned with even greater ferocity and poor Tambling's Chelsea umbrella immediately blew inside out, drenching the 69-year-old as he completed his lap of honour.
    The thunder rumbled again as Phil Dowd blew his whistle to start the second period, with the pitch so soaked that the construction of coherent moves became almost impossible. But the excitement never stopped building and both sides lived dangerously before Torres lit up the murk with his moment of redemption, promptly disappearing under a mass of delighted team-mates. If he and they can sustain the momentum at home to Tottenham on Saturday, they will go on to meet a Manchester United side who will have played three games &#8211; including both legs of their Champions League semi-final against Schalke &#8211; to Chelsea's one. The contest, like the £50m striker's career, is alive again.

 
Chelsea's Fernando Torres steals thunder with a bolt from the blue

The £50m Spain striker ends his scoring drought at last as West Ham's brave challenge is sunk in the driving rain
Chelsea's Fernando Torres steals thunder with a bolt from the blue

The £50m Spain striker ends his scoring drought at last as West Ham's brave challenge is sunk in the driving rain

  • Fernando-Torres-of-Chelse-007.jpg
    Was there something in the air that night, Fernando? Torres milks the acclaim after his first Chelsea goal. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Action Images

    Start all the clocks, reconnect the telephone and warn the replica shirt supplier that overtime may be required. Fernando Torres has scored for Chelsea.
    Thunder, lightning, a monsoon, and Torres's first goal for Chelsea. A change in the weather, indeed. Treacherous conditions that threatened to ruin the match instead contributed to 90 minutes of almost continuous drama, culminating in a moment that will make the Spanish striker, his team-mates and their supporters believe that their season is not dead. If Torres could score after 13 barren appearances in the blue No9 shirt, anything can happen.
    Torres came on to replace Didier Drogba in the 76th minute, and almost everything he did thereafter was impressive. With his first touch he squared the ball neatly for Nicolas Anelka, his fellow substitute, whose shot was blocked on the line by Danny Gabbidon. The next thing the Spaniard did was score, haring into the penalty area on a diagonal path and readjusting quite brilliantly when the ball stuck on the waterlogged pitch, turning back to guide a left-footed shot past Green's right hand. And in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time his pass from the right, misread by Anelka, rolled through to Florent Malouda, whose drive completed the victory.
    A couple of minutes before the interval, just as Frank Lampard was receiving the congratulations of his colleagues for giving Chelsea the lead, a second peal of thunder rumbled around the stadium. Some of the floodlights went out, and the rest flickered. Javier Hernández might have struck to give Manchester United a last-ditch victory three hours earlier and 200 miles away, but the fates seemed to be announcing the start of the final act in this most inscrutable of championship races.
    For the real turning point we will probably have to wait until a week on Sunday, when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford. In between times the west London side entertain Tottenham Hotspur while United visit Arsenal. The match in Manchester on 8 May is likely to take place on a knife-edge.
    Saturday's fixture, staged between two teams experiencing very different kinds of desperation, should not have required the attention of the special effects department. But a torrential downpour provided the overture, and the first crack of thunder marked the end of an inconclusive opening half-hour and the intensifying of the contest.
    Once again Torres was left on the bench – for the sixth time in the last seven league matches – with the manager, Carlo Ancelotti, preferring the all-Ivorian partnership of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, the younger of the pair having scored in Chelsea's last two matches, against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion.
    After several days of baking heat, the rain began to fall a couple of minutes before the kick-off, coming down in big summer droplets and with such density that the players were soon sploshing around with an air of suppressed anxiety, as if uncertain whether a pass was going to stop dead or skid beyond its intended recipient. Kalou should have opened the scoring in the third minute when he failed to beat Green from close range after running on to Drogba's flick, but the thunder came as West Ham were experiencing their best spell of the match and it felt like a reversal of the tide when Ashley Cole turned Drogba's perfectly weighted pass back across the goalmouth into the path of Lampard, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
    The half-time entertainment featured an appearance by Bobby Tambling, Chelsea's record scorer, whose 202 goals included a pair registered in the classic 5-5 draw between these two sides at the Bridge in December 1966. The rain had returned with even greater ferocity and poor Tambling's Chelsea umbrella immediately blew inside out, drenching the 69-year-old as he completed his lap of honour.
    The thunder rumbled again as Phil Dowd blew his whistle to start the second period, with the pitch so soaked that the construction of coherent moves became almost impossible. But the excitement never stopped building and both sides lived dangerously before Torres lit up the murk with his moment of redemption, promptly disappearing under a mass of delighted team-mates. If he and they can sustain the momentum at home to Tottenham on Saturday, they will go on to meet a Manchester United side who will have played three games – including both legs of their Champions League semi-final against Schalke – to Chelsea's one. The contest, like the £50m striker's career, is alive again.





  • Fernando-Torres-of-Chelse-007.jpg
    Was there something in the air that night, Fernando? Torres milks the acclaim after his first Chelsea goal. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Action Images

    Start all the clocks, reconnect the telephone and warn the replica shirt supplier that overtime may be required. Fernando Torres has scored for Chelsea.
    Thunder, lightning, a monsoon, and Torres's first goal for Chelsea. A change in the weather, indeed. Treacherous conditions that threatened to ruin the match instead contributed to 90 minutes of almost continuous drama, culminating in a moment that will make the Spanish striker, his team-mates and their supporters believe that their season is not dead. If Torres could score after 13 barren appearances in the blue No9 shirt, anything can happen.
    Torres came on to replace Didier Drogba in the 76th minute, and almost everything he did thereafter was impressive. With his first touch he squared the ball neatly for Nicolas Anelka, his fellow substitute, whose shot was blocked on the line by Danny Gabbidon. The next thing the Spaniard did was score, haring into the penalty area on a diagonal path and readjusting quite brilliantly when the ball stuck on the waterlogged pitch, turning back to guide a left-footed shot past Green's right hand. And in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time his pass from the right, misread by Anelka, rolled through to Florent Malouda, whose drive completed the victory.
    A couple of minutes before the interval, just as Frank Lampard was receiving the congratulations of his colleagues for giving Chelsea the lead, a second peal of thunder rumbled around the stadium. Some of the floodlights went out, and the rest flickered. Javier Hernández might have struck to give Manchester United a last-ditch victory three hours earlier and 200 miles away, but the fates seemed to be announcing the start of the final act in this most inscrutable of championship races.
    For the real turning point we will probably have to wait until a week on Sunday, when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford. In between times the west London side entertain Tottenham Hotspur while United visit Arsenal. The match in Manchester on 8 May is likely to take place on a knife-edge.
    Saturday's fixture, staged between two teams experiencing very different kinds of desperation, should not have required the attention of the special effects department. But a torrential downpour provided the overture, and the first crack of thunder marked the end of an inconclusive opening half-hour and the intensifying of the contest.
    Once again Torres was left on the bench – for the sixth time in the last seven league matches – with the manager, Carlo Ancelotti, preferring the all-Ivorian partnership of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, the younger of the pair having scored in Chelsea's last two matches, against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion.
    After several days of baking heat, the rain began to fall a couple of minutes before the kick-off, coming down in big summer droplets and with such density that the players were soon sploshing around with an air of suppressed anxiety, as if uncertain whether a pass was going to stop dead or skid beyond its intended recipient. Kalou should have opened the scoring in the third minute when he failed to beat Green from close range after running on to Drogba's flick, but the thunder came as West Ham were experiencing their best spell of the match and it felt like a reversal of the tide when Ashley Cole turned Drogba's perfectly weighted pass back across the goalmouth into the path of Lampard, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
    The half-time entertainment featured an appearance by Bobby Tambling, Chelsea's record scorer, whose 202 goals included a pair registered in the classic 5-5 draw between these two sides at the Bridge in December 1966. The rain had returned with even greater ferocity and poor Tambling's Chelsea umbrella immediately blew inside out, drenching the 69-year-old as he completed his lap of honour.
    The thunder rumbled again as Phil Dowd blew his whistle to start the second period, with the pitch so soaked that the construction of coherent moves became almost impossible. But the excitement never stopped building and both sides lived dangerously before Torres lit up the murk with his moment of redemption, promptly disappearing under a mass of delighted team-mates. If he and they can sustain the momentum at home to Tottenham on Saturday, they will go on to meet a Manchester United side who will have played three games – including both legs of their Champions League semi-final against Schalke – to Chelsea's one. The contest, like the £50m striker's career, is alive again.

 
Fernando Torres delivers for Chelsea at last to sink West Ham



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Premier League

Chelsea 3
  • Lampard 44,
  • Torres 84,
  • Malouda 93
West Ham United 0



  • Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 April 2011 19.37 BST
    Fernando-Torres-Chelsea-v-007.jpg
    Chelsea's Fernando Torres celebrates scoring his first goal for the club, against West Ham. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

    Chelsea's late-season surge continues and, despite Manchester United still heading them by six points, part of the message from Carlo Ancelotti's side is that Fernando Torres has finally scored, and may continue to do so until the title is decided.
    The Spaniard's first goal since the second of a pair scored for Liverpool against Wolves in late January suggested his sharpness has returned. On the rain-soaked Stamford Bridge turf the ball held up behind the striker but he was able to nonchalantly pirouette before delivering the sweetest of finishes with his left foot, eight minutes after coming on.
    Ancelotti said: "It was an important moment for him and for all the fans who waited for Fernando to score. It was a fantastic moment and now his future will be fantastic here, [at] this club, with his team-mates. The big problem was he came in to a new club and it was not easy to find a relationship with the new team-mates and the play. But now the bad moments have gone."
    Asked if the goal was a relief, Ancelotti said: "Obviously for him. He needed to score to move from this moment. The next game for him will be really better. [The finish] was good movement, a fantastic goal."
    Torres told ESPN: "It was not the beginning I was expecting when I signed, but it's not easy to go in January or February. I kept working and it's thanks to all my team-mates that I scored. There's less pressure for me now &#8211; now I can enjoy it. Today the pitch was not the best [due to heavy rain] to score the goal, but football is like this."
    After Florent Malouda smashed home in added time to confirm a 3-0 win that was a touch unfair on West Ham, Ancelotti was asked of his team's ability to retain their title. He said: "We have less possibility because we are one game less [as] now there are just four games [and] the gap is the same [to Manchester United]. So it will be more difficult but we have to keep trying to believe."
    West Ham had begun this game rooted to the bottom, two points off 17th, which for any player in the relegation dog-fight at this juncture of the season will appear a yawning margin. Avram Grant lined his side up in a 4-3-3 that matched Ancelotti's formation, and it was Chelsea who had the best of the chances during a first half that frustrated the Italian yet ended in the best way.
    Throughout the opening period Ancelotti had been waving at his side to slide balls in behind Lars Jacobsen, the visiting right-back. After 43 minutes Chelsea finally received the message, and they took the lead.
    Didier Drogba, who had been the focus of most of Ancelotti's glowering but would end the contest as its best performer, twisted a pass that released Ashley Cole into a gallop. This had the visiting rearguard desperate to regain ground but before they could manage any damage limitation, the England left-back zipped over a cross that allowed Frank Lampard to bury a finish beyond Robert Green for a lead that had been coming.
    First up, Malouda had raced down the inside-right channel but unloaded a shot that Green parried with his body, as Chelsea began proving that they can switch tempo when required, which has not always been true this season. When Freddie Sears hacked a clearance away the ball went straight to Malouda. He ambled a couple of steps, then smacked a pass into Drogba's feet. An instant turn allowed the Ivorian to blaze a shot at Green that skidded across the wet surface before the keeper collected.
    At this point West Ham appeared to have dug in for an attritional contest in which they would defend while Chelsea came at them in waves of blue. Yet from somewhere Grant's team found their mojo. Sears sprinted from halfway and dinked over a cross that had Jonathan Spector diving into a header that forced Petr Cech into a first save.
    Then, after a Mark Noble corner, Sears backheeled from close range but Cole stopped the ball on the line, and Cech gathered.
    For a frantic period before Torres's intervention the drenched pitch levelled the contest as Drogba and company hurtled forward, before West Ham subsequently went close themselves.
    Drogba played in Lampard but the midfielder could not finish, then the striker appeared in West Ham's area but his chested control proved too heavy. A David Luiz 20-yard drive crashed off Green's crossbar but this presaged West Ham moving into their opponents' territory as Demba Ba stung Cech's hands, then Robbie Keane &#8211; on for Mark Noble &#8211; failed to finish.
    While Grant said the knee injury Noble sustained could be serious, Ancelotti was unsure about the muscle problem that caused Michael Essien's removal.
    Ancelotti now has to decide whether Torres will start in Chelsea's next outing, which is next Saturday when Tottenham Hotspur are the visitors to Stamford Bridge. "Considering the performance of Didier today, considering that Fernando scored, we have to try and put both together. We have one week to train and then I will make the decision," he said.
    Grant could at least console himself that Scott Parker should return immediately, after the newly crowned Football Writers' Footballer of the Year missed this one with an achilles problem.
    Of West Ham's hopes of avoiding the drop Grant said: "We need to do what we need to do." Yes, and quickly.
    THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

    TRIZIA FIORELLINO, ChelseaSupportersGroup.netWhen Torres finally scored I thought the ground was going to collapse, the noise was so loud. We were pretty average and our play was pretty slow. When Lampard scored I thought the flood gates would open but it didn't happen, but it was party time all the way once Torres scored. We keep winning but I think we probably left our run two games too late.
    The fan's player ratings Cech 8; Ivanovic 8, David Luiz 7, Terry 8, Cole 7; Essien 7 (Benayoun 57 7), Lampard 7, Mikel 7; Malouda 7, Drogba 9 (Torres 77 8), Kalou 6 (Anelka 70 6)
    TIM CONLAN, Observer reader I never thought we would get anything out of this game, especially when I saw the line-up, but I thought we played quite well. Grant gambled at the end with effectively four forwards and we got caught with two late goals, but I thought the scoreline flattered Chelsea. I think we could still stay up with 39 points, but it's possible rather than probable. We could do with a point at City next week.
    The fan's player ratings Green 7; Jacobsen 7, Gabbidon 8, Da Costa 7, Bridge 8; Hitzlsperger 6, Noble 6 (Keane 60 5), Spector 8; Sears 8 (Obinna 82 4), Cole 7 (Piquionne 79 5), Ba 6
    To take part in the Fans' Verdict, email sport@observer.co.uk

 
Fernando Torres delivers for Chelsea at last to sink West Ham




Premier League

Chelsea 3
  • Lampard 44,
  • Torres 84,
  • Malouda 93
West Ham United 0



  • Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 April 2011 19.37 BST
    Fernando-Torres-Chelsea-v-007.jpg
    Chelsea's Fernando Torres celebrates scoring his first goal for the club, against West Ham. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

    Chelsea's late-season surge continues and, despite Manchester United still heading them by six points, part of the message from Carlo Ancelotti's side is that Fernando Torres has finally scored, and may continue to do so until the title is decided.
    The Spaniard's first goal since the second of a pair scored for Liverpool against Wolves in late January suggested his sharpness has returned. On the rain-soaked Stamford Bridge turf the ball held up behind the striker but he was able to nonchalantly pirouette before delivering the sweetest of finishes with his left foot, eight minutes after coming on.
    Ancelotti said: "It was an important moment for him and for all the fans who waited for Fernando to score. It was a fantastic moment and now his future will be fantastic here, [at] this club, with his team-mates. The big problem was he came in to a new club and it was not easy to find a relationship with the new team-mates and the play. But now the bad moments have gone."
    Asked if the goal was a relief, Ancelotti said: "Obviously for him. He needed to score to move from this moment. The next game for him will be really better. [The finish] was good movement, a fantastic goal."
    Torres told ESPN: "It was not the beginning I was expecting when I signed, but it's not easy to go in January or February. I kept working and it's thanks to all my team-mates that I scored. There's less pressure for me now – now I can enjoy it. Today the pitch was not the best [due to heavy rain] to score the goal, but football is like this."
    After Florent Malouda smashed home in added time to confirm a 3-0 win that was a touch unfair on West Ham, Ancelotti was asked of his team's ability to retain their title. He said: "We have less possibility because we are one game less [as] now there are just four games [and] the gap is the same [to Manchester United]. So it will be more difficult but we have to keep trying to believe."
    West Ham had begun this game rooted to the bottom, two points off 17th, which for any player in the relegation dog-fight at this juncture of the season will appear a yawning margin. Avram Grant lined his side up in a 4-3-3 that matched Ancelotti's formation, and it was Chelsea who had the best of the chances during a first half that frustrated the Italian yet ended in the best way.
    Throughout the opening period Ancelotti had been waving at his side to slide balls in behind Lars Jacobsen, the visiting right-back. After 43 minutes Chelsea finally received the message, and they took the lead.
    Didier Drogba, who had been the focus of most of Ancelotti's glowering but would end the contest as its best performer, twisted a pass that released Ashley Cole into a gallop. This had the visiting rearguard desperate to regain ground but before they could manage any damage limitation, the England left-back zipped over a cross that allowed Frank Lampard to bury a finish beyond Robert Green for a lead that had been coming.
    First up, Malouda had raced down the inside-right channel but unloaded a shot that Green parried with his body, as Chelsea began proving that they can switch tempo when required, which has not always been true this season. When Freddie Sears hacked a clearance away the ball went straight to Malouda. He ambled a couple of steps, then smacked a pass into Drogba's feet. An instant turn allowed the Ivorian to blaze a shot at Green that skidded across the wet surface before the keeper collected.
    At this point West Ham appeared to have dug in for an attritional contest in which they would defend while Chelsea came at them in waves of blue. Yet from somewhere Grant's team found their mojo. Sears sprinted from halfway and dinked over a cross that had Jonathan Spector diving into a header that forced Petr Cech into a first save.
    Then, after a Mark Noble corner, Sears backheeled from close range but Cole stopped the ball on the line, and Cech gathered.
    For a frantic period before Torres's intervention the drenched pitch levelled the contest as Drogba and company hurtled forward, before West Ham subsequently went close themselves.
    Drogba played in Lampard but the midfielder could not finish, then the striker appeared in West Ham's area but his chested control proved too heavy. A David Luiz 20-yard drive crashed off Green's crossbar but this presaged West Ham moving into their opponents' territory as Demba Ba stung Cech's hands, then Robbie Keane – on for Mark Noble – failed to finish.
    While Grant said the knee injury Noble sustained could be serious, Ancelotti was unsure about the muscle problem that caused Michael Essien's removal.
    Ancelotti now has to decide whether Torres will start in Chelsea's next outing, which is next Saturday when Tottenham Hotspur are the visitors to Stamford Bridge. "Considering the performance of Didier today, considering that Fernando scored, we have to try and put both together. We have one week to train and then I will make the decision," he said.
    Grant could at least console himself that Scott Parker should return immediately, after the newly crowned Football Writers' Footballer of the Year missed this one with an achilles problem.
    Of West Ham's hopes of avoiding the drop Grant said: "We need to do what we need to do." Yes, and quickly.
    THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

    TRIZIA FIORELLINO, ChelseaSupportersGroup.netWhen Torres finally scored I thought the ground was going to collapse, the noise was so loud. We were pretty average and our play was pretty slow. When Lampard scored I thought the flood gates would open but it didn't happen, but it was party time all the way once Torres scored. We keep winning but I think we probably left our run two games too late.
    The fan's player ratings Cech 8; Ivanovic 8, David Luiz 7, Terry 8, Cole 7; Essien 7 (Benayoun 57 7), Lampard 7, Mikel 7; Malouda 7, Drogba 9 (Torres 77 8), Kalou 6 (Anelka 70 6)
    TIM CONLAN, Observer reader I never thought we would get anything out of this game, especially when I saw the line-up, but I thought we played quite well. Grant gambled at the end with effectively four forwards and we got caught with two late goals, but I thought the scoreline flattered Chelsea. I think we could still stay up with 39 points, but it's possible rather than probable. We could do with a point at City next week.
    The fan's player ratings Green 7; Jacobsen 7, Gabbidon 8, Da Costa 7, Bridge 8; Hitzlsperger 6, Noble 6 (Keane 60 5), Spector 8; Sears 8 (Obinna 82 4), Cole 7 (Piquionne 79 5), Ba 6
    To take part in the Fans' Verdict, email sport@observer.co.uk
 
Simba duo join Taifa Cup fray




By The guardian reporter



23rd April 2011








Simba duo of striker Musa Hassan Mgosi and second choice goalkeeper Ali Mustapha have signed for Ilala regional team ahead of the Taifa Cup championship that kicks off on May 7 at six designated regional centres.
Ilala District Football Association's (IDFA) secretary general Mohammed Bhinda confirmed of the duo's availability for the team.
Joining the fray are Yanga duo of midfielder Juma Seif and centre back Chacha Marwa. Former Simba player
Shabani Kisiga is also a sign up for the team.
Bhinda said the team is expected to open up a training camp today under coaching duo of Hassan Banyai and Mbaraka Hassan.
While Banyai was responsible for Moro United's Mainland premiership berth promotion, his colleague played a role for Ashanti Football Club.
The IDFA official said the team's preparations are going on smoothly under guidance of Legislator Mussa Zungu.
"We have a string team good enough to win this year's Taifa Cup edition as we expect to beat every team towards the final," said Bhinda.
Ilala teams under coach Jamhuri Kihwelu were knocked out at the semifinal stage by rookies Lindi in the Taifa Cup's biggest upset.
The championship's quarterfinal and final stages will be hosted by Arusha and Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium is the venue.
Tournament sponsors Tanzania Breweries have set aside a staggering 40 million as the top prize and half of the mount for the losing finalist.
Third placed team would take home half of the runners up prize and Singida are reigning champions under coach Suleiman Matola.



SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN


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Real Madrid v Barcelona, Champions League semi-final first leg, Wednesday 27 April 7.45

Duel of the X-men at heart of Real Madrid passion play with Barcelona

Forget Ronaldo v Messi, the midfield collision of Xabi and Xavi is set to decide a dazzling Champions League semi-final



  • Xabi-Alonso-Real-Madrid-007.jpg
    Xabi Alonso, above, and Xavi are the 'brains' of Real Madrid and Barcelona, supplying their teams with superb passing and control. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Allstar

    There was something striking about the cheat notes an English player smuggled into a Spanish press room and sneaked under the desk, ready to recite when the moment was right. "And how," he had asked as he copied out the phrases the day before, "do you say that?" The answer was simple: exactly as it's written. One of the beauties of Spanish is that it is largely phonetic. This is not a country that makes spelling mistakes, except for one: Bs and Vs sound virtually identical, ending up erroneously exchanged. Some things become indistinguishable &#8211; like voting (votar) and bouncing (botar).
    Or Xavi and Xabi.
    Xavi and Xabi, Xabi and Xavi. Xavi Hernández and Xabi Alonso. They are the X-men currently in the midst of their side's midfields and in the thick of an epic in four chapters &#8211; a saga in which Barcelona have been left as virtual league champions and Madrid as actual Copa del Rey winners, in which the trophy that matters most, the climax, will be decided over the next 10 days.
    "Indistinguishable" might be pushing it. Not least because Catalan and Basque roots mean that those with sharp hearing can tell the pair apart &#8211; not because of the V or the B but because of the X, from a "ch" sound for Xavi to "sh" for Xabi. And because there are differences to their games: Xabi is taller, more imposing, his position is a little more static, a little deeper; Xavi provides the final pass more often, Spain's most important assist provider last season. Xabi's passes travel further; Xavi's travel faster.
    Yet there is a striking mutual respect between them and a similarity that, for all the focus on Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, may make of them the central actors in the drama about to unfold. One that means that it just feels right that they play together for Spain. These are the men who will face each other in the heart of midfield, the men entrusted with bringing an identity to their teams, whose job it is not just to play better but make others play better too.
    Xavi is Barcelona's ideologue &#8211; bright, opinionated and analytical, the man Pep Guardiola told: "I can't imagine Barça without you." Xabi is one of the few players to discuss tactics with José Mourinho, to contradict him and suggest other approaches, a leader within the Madrid dressing room &#8211; intelligent, communicative, quietly authoritative, bringing calm to a team that plays at breakneck speed. These are Madrid and Barcelona's cerebros: their brains.
    Real football people, insightful and passionate about the game, in awe at the passion it provokes and absolutely assured as to the way it can be played, they are team-mates and fellow travellers for Spain. And for all the differences between the clubs, for all that Guardiola and Mourinho have divergent approaches, for all that their identities diverged further over the past week than they ever have before, there is an inescapable similarity between them.
    Just ask the men who have faced them. When Almería played Barcelona last season, their then coach, Hugo Sánchez, ordered one of his players to man-mark Xavi, cutting off Barcelona's football "at source". When Almería drew with Madrid earlier this season, their then coach, José Luis Oltra, was most concerned with stopping Xabi. "We had to make sure Alonso had as little of the ball as possible," Oltra said. "He is the Madrid player who most makes sense of the game &#8211; he plays the best long passes, the best final pass and the controls the game best. There is a real criteria to the way he plays."
    Only two Madrid players have won possession back more times than Alonso, but it is that passing, the control, that has been judged to have most defined him here. Just as it is with Xavi.
    Guardiola rests Xavi only when he must. Mourinho has avoided rotations this season but when big games come it is Alonso he seeks to protect first. Apart from the 5-0 defeat to Barcelona in November, Madrid have been beaten just twice &#8211; by Osasuna and Sporting. Alonso did not start either game. He was missing last year, too, when Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon. Liverpool fans who witnessed their side's collapse after Alonso's departure will be familiar with the feeling.
    "It turned out that Madrid could play without Cristiano Ronaldo," wrote one columnist, "but they couldn't play without Alonso." As for Xavi, the thought of his retirement has fans of Spain and Barcelona breaking into a cold sweat. They play as they do because he makes them.
    Although he identifies most closely with the city of San Sebastián, Xabi Alonso's father, Periko, played for Barcelona for three years and played for Sabadell, meaning that Xabi lived in the Catalan capital for six years, near the city's Avenida Diagonal. So maybe there is a natural affinity, born of experience and location. There is a certain a complicity of criteria and approach, as well as a mutual appreciation.
    Friends recall Alonso returning to Liverpool from the Spain squad, stunned by what he had seen Xavi do. But do not take their word for it. Alonso describes Xavi as the player who "probably has the best passing ratio in history if you look at possession, participation and how rarely he loses the ball." "When you are in the middle of a Barcelona rondo [keep the ball]," he told Público, "you feel impotent. You need to know when to put your foot in or else, pum-pum-pum and they get away from you. Xavi loses so, so few. I am lucky to have enjoyed that with the Spanish national team. But when I am with Madrid, I suffer it." He added: "In fact, that was the worst experience of my footballing life."
    The lack of control hurts. Much like his counterpart, control is what Alonso is there to provide. While Xavi Hernández has completed more passes than anyone else in Spain this season, 2,794 &#8211; 400 more than anyone else &#8211; Xabi Alonso has completed 1,558 (before Saturday's games). That is more than anyone in the Madrid side, by a huge difference. He is the only Madrid player in the top 10 and just two non-Barcelona players are ahead of him: Verdú from Espanyol and Villarreal's Bruno. Perhaps, then, it is little surprise that, asked which Madrid player he would steal ready for this series of clásicos, Xavi replied: "Xabi." "Xabi," Xavi said, "is the player that could best adapt to our associative game. He has enormous talent, he is very quick in his use of the ball and very intelligent."
    Last Saturday in La Liga, you might have begged to differ; on Wednesday night in the Copa del Rey final even more so. Alonso's game appeared altered. He played long and direct, rarely choosing his passes with characteristic care and reaching half-time with the kind of statistics that screamed at you, so unusual were they. He had completed fewer passes than Víctor Valdés. By the full-time whistle, with the score at 1-1, he had completed just 16. Xavi, in contrast, had clocked up well over one hundred.
    That was a fact most noted in the Barcelona camp &#8211; and with a quiet hint of disappointment, as if they looked on Alonso like a good kid who had got in with the wrong crowd. Patronising, perhaps. Puritanical, certainly. After all, Madrid had stemmed the bleeding. Defeated 5-0 in November, now the score was 1-1. And better was to come. But, still, it was true.
    Three days later, the feeling grew even more intense, this time turning bitter and angry. In an often fractious Copa del Rey final, in which the mutual affection appeared buried forever, in which Spanish national team-mates on both sides were locked in feuds all over the field, Xavi again racked up a huge number of passes: 135. Alonso completed just 35. But this time, it did not matter: Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey and might even have found a formula for beating Barcelona in Europe, too.
    For Xabi that new formula meant a revolution in his role. Yet he embraced it. He had not failed; he had, rather, succeeded in playing a different role. The question is whether it is a role that will prosper over the next two meetings. A role in which Xabi was not like Xavi. This time telling them apart was easy. Xabi Alonso was the one holding the Cup.

Football


Sport

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Real Madrid v Barcelona, Champions League semi-final first leg, Wednesday 27 April 7.45

Duel of the X-men at heart of Real Madrid passion play with Barcelona

Forget Ronaldo v Messi, the midfield collision of Xabi and Xavi is set to decide a dazzling Champions League semi-final



  • Xabi-Alonso-Real-Madrid-007.jpg
    Xabi Alonso, above, and Xavi are the 'brains' of Real Madrid and Barcelona, supplying their teams with superb passing and control. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Allstar

    There was something striking about the cheat notes an English player smuggled into a Spanish press room and sneaked under the desk, ready to recite when the moment was right. "And how," he had asked as he copied out the phrases the day before, "do you say that?" The answer was simple: exactly as it's written. One of the beauties of Spanish is that it is largely phonetic. This is not a country that makes spelling mistakes, except for one: Bs and Vs sound virtually identical, ending up erroneously exchanged. Some things become indistinguishable – like voting (votar) and bouncing (botar).
    Or Xavi and Xabi.
    Xavi and Xabi, Xabi and Xavi. Xavi Hernández and Xabi Alonso. They are the X-men currently in the midst of their side's midfields and in the thick of an epic in four chapters – a saga in which Barcelona have been left as virtual league champions and Madrid as actual Copa del Rey winners, in which the trophy that matters most, the climax, will be decided over the next 10 days.
    "Indistinguishable" might be pushing it. Not least because Catalan and Basque roots mean that those with sharp hearing can tell the pair apart – not because of the V or the B but because of the X, from a "ch" sound for Xavi to "sh" for Xabi. And because there are differences to their games: Xabi is taller, more imposing, his position is a little more static, a little deeper; Xavi provides the final pass more often, Spain's most important assist provider last season. Xabi's passes travel further; Xavi's travel faster.
    Yet there is a striking mutual respect between them and a similarity that, for all the focus on Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, may make of them the central actors in the drama about to unfold. One that means that it just feels right that they play together for Spain. These are the men who will face each other in the heart of midfield, the men entrusted with bringing an identity to their teams, whose job it is not just to play better but make others play better too.
    Xavi is Barcelona's ideologue – bright, opinionated and analytical, the man Pep Guardiola told: "I can't imagine Barça without you." Xabi is one of the few players to discuss tactics with José Mourinho, to contradict him and suggest other approaches, a leader within the Madrid dressing room – intelligent, communicative, quietly authoritative, bringing calm to a team that plays at breakneck speed. These are Madrid and Barcelona's cerebros: their brains.
    Real football people, insightful and passionate about the game, in awe at the passion it provokes and absolutely assured as to the way it can be played, they are team-mates and fellow travellers for Spain. And for all the differences between the clubs, for all that Guardiola and Mourinho have divergent approaches, for all that their identities diverged further over the past week than they ever have before, there is an inescapable similarity between them.
    Just ask the men who have faced them. When Almería played Barcelona last season, their then coach, Hugo Sánchez, ordered one of his players to man-mark Xavi, cutting off Barcelona's football "at source". When Almería drew with Madrid earlier this season, their then coach, José Luis Oltra, was most concerned with stopping Xabi. "We had to make sure Alonso had as little of the ball as possible," Oltra said. "He is the Madrid player who most makes sense of the game – he plays the best long passes, the best final pass and the controls the game best. There is a real criteria to the way he plays."
    Only two Madrid players have won possession back more times than Alonso, but it is that passing, the control, that has been judged to have most defined him here. Just as it is with Xavi.
    Guardiola rests Xavi only when he must. Mourinho has avoided rotations this season but when big games come it is Alonso he seeks to protect first. Apart from the 5-0 defeat to Barcelona in November, Madrid have been beaten just twice – by Osasuna and Sporting. Alonso did not start either game. He was missing last year, too, when Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon. Liverpool fans who witnessed their side's collapse after Alonso's departure will be familiar with the feeling.
    "It turned out that Madrid could play without Cristiano Ronaldo," wrote one columnist, "but they couldn't play without Alonso." As for Xavi, the thought of his retirement has fans of Spain and Barcelona breaking into a cold sweat. They play as they do because he makes them.
    Although he identifies most closely with the city of San Sebastián, Xabi Alonso's father, Periko, played for Barcelona for three years and played for Sabadell, meaning that Xabi lived in the Catalan capital for six years, near the city's Avenida Diagonal. So maybe there is a natural affinity, born of experience and location. There is a certain a complicity of criteria and approach, as well as a mutual appreciation.
    Friends recall Alonso returning to Liverpool from the Spain squad, stunned by what he had seen Xavi do. But do not take their word for it. Alonso describes Xavi as the player who "probably has the best passing ratio in history if you look at possession, participation and how rarely he loses the ball." "When you are in the middle of a Barcelona rondo [keep the ball]," he told Público, "you feel impotent. You need to know when to put your foot in or else, pum-pum-pum and they get away from you. Xavi loses so, so few. I am lucky to have enjoyed that with the Spanish national team. But when I am with Madrid, I suffer it." He added: "In fact, that was the worst experience of my footballing life."
    The lack of control hurts. Much like his counterpart, control is what Alonso is there to provide. While Xavi Hernández has completed more passes than anyone else in Spain this season, 2,794 – 400 more than anyone else – Xabi Alonso has completed 1,558 (before Saturday's games). That is more than anyone in the Madrid side, by a huge difference. He is the only Madrid player in the top 10 and just two non-Barcelona players are ahead of him: Verdú from Espanyol and Villarreal's Bruno. Perhaps, then, it is little surprise that, asked which Madrid player he would steal ready for this series of clásicos, Xavi replied: "Xabi." "Xabi," Xavi said, "is the player that could best adapt to our associative game. He has enormous talent, he is very quick in his use of the ball and very intelligent."
    Last Saturday in La Liga, you might have begged to differ; on Wednesday night in the Copa del Rey final even more so. Alonso's game appeared altered. He played long and direct, rarely choosing his passes with characteristic care and reaching half-time with the kind of statistics that screamed at you, so unusual were they. He had completed fewer passes than Víctor Valdés. By the full-time whistle, with the score at 1-1, he had completed just 16. Xavi, in contrast, had clocked up well over one hundred.
    That was a fact most noted in the Barcelona camp – and with a quiet hint of disappointment, as if they looked on Alonso like a good kid who had got in with the wrong crowd. Patronising, perhaps. Puritanical, certainly. After all, Madrid had stemmed the bleeding. Defeated 5-0 in November, now the score was 1-1. And better was to come. But, still, it was true.
    Three days later, the feeling grew even more intense, this time turning bitter and angry. In an often fractious Copa del Rey final, in which the mutual affection appeared buried forever, in which Spanish national team-mates on both sides were locked in feuds all over the field, Xavi again racked up a huge number of passes: 135. Alonso completed just 35. But this time, it did not matter: Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey and might even have found a formula for beating Barcelona in Europe, too.
    For Xabi that new formula meant a revolution in his role. Yet he embraced it. He had not failed; he had, rather, succeeded in playing a different role. The question is whether it is a role that will prosper over the next two meetings. A role in which Xabi was not like Xavi. This time telling them apart was easy. Xabi Alonso was the one holding the Cup.

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Gonzalo Higuaín scores a hat-trick as Real Madrid hit Valencia for six




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La Liga

Valencia 3
  • Soldado 60,
  • Jonas 80,
  • Alba 85
Real Madrid 6
  • Benzema 23,
  • Higuaín 31,
  • Kaká 39,
  • Higuaín 42,
  • Higuaín 53,
  • Kaká 62




  • Reuters
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 April 2011 19.57 BST
    Gonzalo-Higuain-007.jpg
    Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuaín celebrates after completing his hat-trick against Valencia. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images

    A weakened Real Madrid team ran Valencia ragged at Mestalla, scoring four goals before the break to run out 6-3 winners, including a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuaín.
    Three days after a 1-0 extra-time victory over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final at the same stadium, Real rested a number of first-team regulars but still proved too strong for third-placed Valencia.
    Karim Benzema opened the scoring, Kaká grabbed a brace and Higuaín rattled in three goals, as Valencia were torn apart by the pace of Real's counter-attacks.
    After Roberto Soldado scored what looked like a consolation goal for Valencia on the hour Real eased up, allowing Jonas and Jordi Alba to grab late goals and make the scoreline slightly more respectable.
    The win means José Mourinho's side remain eight points behind Barça, who beat Osasuna 2-0 in the late fixture on Saturday.

 
Gonzalo Higuaín scores a hat-trick as Real Madrid hit Valencia for six






La Liga

Valencia 3
  • Soldado 60,
  • Jonas 80,
  • Alba 85
Real Madrid 6
  • Benzema 23,
  • Higuaín 31,
  • Kaká 39,
  • Higuaín 42,
  • Higuaín 53,
  • Kaká 62




  • Reuters
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 April 2011 19.57 BST
    Gonzalo-Higuain-007.jpg
    Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuaín celebrates after completing his hat-trick against Valencia. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images

    A weakened Real Madrid team ran Valencia ragged at Mestalla, scoring four goals before the break to run out 6-3 winners, including a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuaín.
    Three days after a 1-0 extra-time victory over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final at the same stadium, Real rested a number of first-team regulars but still proved too strong for third-placed Valencia.
    Karim Benzema opened the scoring, Kaká grabbed a brace and Higuaín rattled in three goals, as Valencia were torn apart by the pace of Real's counter-attacks.
    After Roberto Soldado scored what looked like a consolation goal for Valencia on the hour Real eased up, allowing Jonas and Jordi Alba to grab late goals and make the scoreline slightly more respectable.
    The win means José Mourinho's side remain eight points behind Barça, who beat Osasuna 2-0 in the late fixture on Saturday.
 
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