This is one of the worst challenges I've seen in a professional match for quite some time; Newcastle's Kevin Nolan with a two footed tackle directly onto the right shin of Everton's Victor Anichebe.
Almost as bad, was the way Nolan protested to referee Lee Mason for showing him a red card. After the match Nolan's managers swore up and down that the foul was unitentional but a professsional should have enough control not to make such out of control tackles that result in basically jumping on someone's shin with both studded cleats. Its the kind of thing that is supposed to separate the real pros from hacks like the rest of us.
It looked like Nolan had broken Anichebe's leg below the knee but he seemed OK and played on in the 0-0 draw. We'll see if he does not have any nagging problems after toughing it out the rest of the way.
If the FA wants to protect players from similar tackles, banning Nolan for three matches would seem to be in order.
This afternoon in Serie A, David Beckham played a lackluster 90 minutes for Milan in their 1-0 win over Cagliari with Clarence Seedorf providing the game winner in the 65th minute.
Becks may not be quite ready to stay on in Milan unless he works on his Italian. During today's match, he was often heard calling out "Change!" in English while bewildered teammates weren't sure what he was saying.
Beckham also got into an injury time scuffle with a Calgiari 's Michele Fini knocked over Milan keeper Abbiati and then elbowed Beckham in the head. Becks was substituted in injury time and was seen holding an ice pack above his right ear as time was called.
After the match when asked about his possible transfer to Milan, Beckham told Sky Calcio, "No news is good news...but I do hope to stay in Milan. Talks are still going on and I hope things work out." When asked whether his England place was at risk if he stayed on with the LA Galaxy, he replied: "Of course, people have said that but I've been at the Galaxy for a year and still managed to be in the England team...but I really hope to stay here."
I haven't been blogging quite enough lately, in part because of the dark mood which seems to have taken hold here in Naples. The home team, Napoli, had a strong start to the season and was hovering around 3rd to 4th place in Serie A when "the streak" started - seven games without a win.
In fact, the town's beloved blue has earned just two points in seven matches and has slid down to mid-table, a place cemented by today's 1-0 loss to Genoa. From December to January, locals were talking about the squad playing in the Champion's League and now they are pointing fingers at players like German Denis (who promised 20 goals and a Champion's League spot). Denis has not quite lived up to expectations but he remains the only decent option for a target man up front.
It seems that things really started to crumble after the team dropped a home match to rivals Roma 3-0, a loss which left the coffee bars full of long faces and hushed tones. Meanwhile, it seems Roma has switched places with Napoli after the slow starting giallarossi have roared back are now sitting on 43 points and poised to grab a Champion's League spot. The most galling aspect for the Napoli faithful is that they've dropped so many points to some of the league's weaker squads including Udinese, Palermo, and relegation threatened Bologna. Now, Napoli faces a real uphill battle to claw its way back into contention as it faces Juventus, Lazio, Reggina, and AC Milan in the next four matches.
Elsewhere in Serie A, Romanian striker Adrian Mutu was the savior for Fiorentina, scoring an injury time goal to give the Viola a 2-1 win over the pesky Chievo Verona. Chievo players threw a fit and started their own shoving match since their own Davide Mandelli lay injured on the ground while Fiorentina cashed in on its final attack.
Today's goal of the day in Italy has got to be Catania's Ciro Capuano in his 34th minute left-footed net ripper against Reggina.
Check it out here (1:03 into the video):
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Two young Americans faced off in Bundesliga action this weekend as Michael Bradley's Borussia Moenchengladbach hosted Hannover 96 and Sal Zizzo (Steve Cherundolo is still out with a hip injury). Bradley went the full 90 for Gladbach, which collected all three points in a 3-2 win. Zizzo entered the match in the 62nd minute for Hannover, making only his third appearance of the season.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Landon Donovan played the second half with Bayern Munich's down 2-0 to 1FC Koeln. While he was involved in some good chances for Bayern, the Bavarians could only crack the Geissbock's defense once, in the 84th minute, to end up 2-1 for the Koelners.
US and Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Michael Bradley is on a roll; scoring two in the USA's 2-0 win over Mexico, then scoring for Gladbach upon his return. Check it out here.
Obviously some 1860 Munich fan is not thrilled with the team's management. Special thanks to Keith Richardson for digging up this hilarious nugget. For those easily offended, please don't press the play button.
The New York Stars (a select team from the metro New York area) fell to Dukla Prague 5-2 today in Pisa during their opening match of the prestigious Torneo Viareggio.
SSC Napoli's Vincenzo Bernardo, on loan for the tournament, went the full 90, drawing a penalty and then scoring from the PK spot. Later, Bernardo carried deep into the Dukla Prague penalty area again and had his cross cleared out by the Dukla defense. The clearance fell to the feet of Chris Alesci, who cracked an 18 meter shot for New York's second goal. Alesci normally plays for the PDL's Westchester Flames.
Today's two goals were the first ever scored by the New York Stars, a perennial participant. In the past, they've normally been beaten 6-0 or 7-0, so a 5-2 losing result is still a sign of real progress.
The Stars face an even stiffer test on Saturday when they take on Fiorentina in the second round.
This is one of the worst challenges I've seen in a professional match for quite some time; Newcastle's Kevin Nolan with a two footed tackle directly onto the right shin of Everton's Victor Anichebe.
This afternoon in Serie A, David Beckham played a lackluster 90 minutes for Milan in their 1-0 win over Cagliari with Clarence Seedorf providing the game winner in the 65th minute.
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