The Indian Football Association (IFA) has officially unveiled the new jersey of the West Bengal State Team sporting the “e.i.n.s. sport” logo for the 67th Santosh Trophy 2013 at a function in Kolkata today.

“e.i.n.s sport” is an Indo-German company with a young and dynamic team working in the fields of sports and entertainment that is working towards development of football in India. The “e.i.n.s sport” logo will be seen as the main shirt sponsor at the front of the new jerseys.

“Marketing of football in India is still at its nascent stage. It is our privilege to be associated with the Bengal Football team and we are grateful to IFA to allow us to be the jersey sponsors for the Bengal Team for the forthcoming Santosh Trophy,” Rainer Appold (CEO, e.i.n.s. sport) told.

“I am grateful for the support extended by e.i.n.s. sport for the Bengal team for the forthcoming Santosh Trophy and hope for a long association with them,” Utpal Kumar Ganguli (Hon. Secretary, IFA) said.

“The Bengal team after winning the trophy for two successive years did not live upto their reputation last year having failed to qualify for the semi final. However this year, the team, with the experienced Manoranjan Bhattyacharya as the Chief Coach and assisted by experienced Satyajit Chatterjee is determined to bring back the trophy which will make e.i.n.s. sport appreciate the sponsorship support extended by them,” Ganguli added.

WEST BENGAL SQUAD

Goalkeepers
Arnab Das Sharma, Debjit Majumdar, Manas Barua

Defenders
Bapi Saha, Soumik Roy, Deepak Singh, Sagram Mandi, Sourav Chakrabarty, Gour Naskar, Saikat Saha Roy

Midfielders
Mohammed Muktar, Arjun Chatterjee, Gopal Debnath, Abhishek Aich, Jagannath Sana, Francis Xavier

Forwards
Dipendu Biswas (Captain), Nabin Hela, Anjan Dey

Officials
Manaranjan Bhattacharyya (Coach), Satyajit Chatterjee (Assistant Coach), Partha Chakrabarty (Goalkeeper Coach)

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/02/13/santosh-trophy-bengal-state-team-to-sport-new-jersey/feed/ 0 01720 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/02/03/ck-vineeth-joins-team-india-with-a-lot-of-self-confidence/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/02/03/ck-vineeth-joins-team-india-with-a-lot-of-self-confidence/#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2013 09:23:08 +0000 Chris Punnakkattu Daniel http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=1269020

Vineeth has earned his first call-up to Wim Koevermans’ Indian squad for the upcoming friendly match against Palestine in his native state of Kerala. The match scheduled to take place at Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on February 6 could see Vineeth making his debut in the all blue kit of Team India.

The Kannur-born footballer had an excellent season in the I-League for his club Prayag United so far and hopes are high to get a chance to earn his first senior international cap in front of the home crowd.

“I’m very happy as my dream to represent my country is finally coming true,” Vineeth told media representatives. “I’m from Kerala and getting the chance to play in Kochi is very special to me. I’m looking forward to play at home.”

The 24 year old has every reason to be happy and to join the India camp with a lot of self-confidence. Vineeth was able to impress in Prayag United’s 4-1 win against Air India at the Balewadi Stadium on Saturday. Vineeth scored three goals in the match and fans in Kerala are hoping to see a Keralite player in the Indian team after a long time.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi is fully prepared to host the India v Palestine friendly match on February 6.

All the major ground work has been completed, and the Kerala Football Association (KFA) is satisfied with the preparations so far.

The Indian team officials and a few Indian national team players have already arrived in the Keralite city. The players had a first training session at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium under the watchful eyes of national coach Wim Koevermans on Saturday.

The second batch of players will arrive in Kochi on Sunday, while the Palestine team is expected to land at the Nedumbassery International Airport on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Football Association is hoping to host more Indian national team matches in the future, and hopes are high that the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be able to convince as the ideal place to host international matches in front of a partisan crowd.

Local authorities have also expressed their wish to see the Nehru Cup coming back to Kerala and they have suggested that the tournament should be hosted in different parts of the country instead playing it only in Delhi. Kochi hosted the Nehru Cup in 1997 for the last time when Iraq won the competition. Hosts India, China, Ghana and Uzbekistan were the other teams participating in the 1997 Nehru Cup.

The beautiful game of football has a rich history and Indian football has many forgotten stories to tell. One of those stories is the visit of Swiss side FC Zürich to India in 1985.

We have seen many foreign clubs doing their bit in India in the recent years and teams like German giants FC Bayern Munich are very active in their aim to promote football and the club as brand in the sub-continent. Others like EPL sides Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Queens Park Rangers or Spanish giants FC Barcelona run their football clinics and competitions around the country.

The young generation of football fans in India remember the matches like the Audi Football Summit when the Indian national team faced Bayern Munich at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium or the Argentina v Venezuela at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata.

But many fans don’t know that India has hosted many other international football teams in the long history of the game. We have seen clubs such as Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven (1991), Germany’s VfL Bochum (1985/86 winter) or New York Cosmos with legendary Pelé (1977) in India amongst others.

The visit of Switzerland’s FC Zürich is one of the less told stories. The Swiss team toured Asia in February 1985 and they played matches in Qatar, Japan and in India. FCZ started their tour with a 2-1 win against Qatar SC before suffering a 1-2 loss against Qatar’s national team. They continued their journey to Japan, where they were held by the Japanese national team to a goalless draw at the Nishigaoka Soccer Stadium in Tokyo and registered a 4-1 win against the Japanese University national team.

The Zürich team featuring players such as Oceania’s Footballer of the Century Wynton Rufer, FCZ legend Urs Fischer and German midfielder Wolfgang Kraus touched down in Mumbai for their last stop of their Asian Tour. The Swiss side was coached by renowned gaffer Václav Ježek, who was in charge of the Czechoslovakia national football team which won the 1976 UEFA European Championships in an dramatic penalty shoot-out against West Germany at the Crvena Zvezda Stadium in Belgrade.

FCZ had arranged an exhibition match against the Maharashtra State Team on February 21, 1985 and the team was looking forward to end their Asian Tour on a high. The visitors were very confident ahead of the match but coach Ježek didn’t underestimate the Maharashtra State Team and fielded his best team.

The Maharashtra State Team conceded an early goal when Heinz Lüdi gave FCZ the lead ten minutes into the game. The hosts didn’t surrender after the early setback and they were able to keep the scoreline until the breather.

But Zürich was the expected superior team and they scored a second goal in the 60th minute as Roger Kundert found the back of the net. Jure Jerkovic increased the lead just three minutes later and Kundert scored his second goal of the match off a penalty kick in the 70th minute.

Markus Schneider scored the final goal of the match in the 74th minute to seal a convincing 5-0 win for the visitors at The Cooperage.

FC Zürich’s visit to India remains the only one by a Swiss team so far. There are sadly not too many records about their visit to Mumbai and many details will remain untold for future generations of Indian footbal fans. But I hope this feature story will help to reach out to the latest generation of new football fans in India and to bring them nearer to the rich history of Indian football. Feature stories like this one or “The Day when Lukas Podolski scored against India“ or even “Down the Memory Lane: The last international match in Kerala“ are just a few forgotten stories in the long history of football in the sub-continent.

It is great to see Indians cheering for clubs like FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and to know that they are aware of all the trivial facts of these clubs and the leagues. But a football fan should also know the facts about the beautiful game in his very own backyard. There is nothing better than home, sweet home…

 Palestine national team coach Jamal Mahmoud has named a 18-member squad for the international friendly match against India on February 6.

The Palestine team will travel to Kochi without foreign-based star player Omar Jarun (Sporting du Pays de Charleroi, Belgium), Alexis Norambuena (Jagiellonia Bialystok, Poland) and Ramzi Saleh (Smouha Sporting Club, Egypt).

The friendly match will be the first India match in Kerala after a gap of almost nine years. The match is slated to kick-off at 18.30 IST / 14.00 CET / 13.00 GMT and it will be broadcasted LIVE on TEN Action+.

The visitors are expected to arrive in the Keralite city on February 4, while the Indian team will touch base in “God’s own Country” on Sunday.

PALESTINE SQUAD

Goalkeepers
Tawfiq Ali (Tarji Wadi Al-Nes), Mohammed Shbair (Shabab Al-Khalil)

Defenders
Abdel-Latif Bahdari (Hajer), Hussam Abu Saleh (Hilal Al-Quds), Khaled Mahdi (Al-Am’ary), Ahmad Salama (Al-Am’ary), Nadim Barghouti (Shabab Al-Khalil), Raed Fares (Hilal Al-Quds)

Midfielders
Abdelrahim Ka’beia (Thahreya), Khader Yousef (Al-Faisaly), Mousa Abu Jazr (Shabab Al-Khalil), Mahmoud Salah (Al-Am’ary), Ma’aly Kaware’ (Al-Am’ary), Imad Zatara (Åtvidabergs FF), Abdelhamid Abuhabib (Shabab Al-Khalil)

Forwards
Eyad Abugharqoud (Shabab Al-Khalil), Ashraf Nu’man (Al-Faisaly), Khaled Salem (Thahreya)

Please CLICK HERE for the full Indian Squad for the Palestine match.

Arata Izumi is the first foreign-born player to earn a call-up to the Indian national team. The Pune FC star will be part of the Indian squad scheduled to take on Palestine on February 6.

Arata was born to an Indian father and Japanese mother in the Japanese city of Shimonoseki. He started his professional football career with S-League club Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellite team of J-League outfit Albirex Niigata.

The midfielder went on to play for Mitsubishi Mizushima, before he joined Kolkata giants East Bengal Club as a Player of Indian Origin (PIO). But he had difficulties in settling and continued his career with Mahindra United and finally Pune FC, whom he joined in 2009.

Signing a deal with PFC helped him to finally settle in India and he recalls the decision as the “turning point of his career”. Arata was able to impress with excellent performances for his club in the I-League and other competitions.

The Japanese midfielder made his mind last year and he took the decision to apply for the Indian citizenship. “It was one of the toughest decisions for me to accept Indian citizenship. I had to consider a lot of factors, and talk to a lot of people, but I finally made the decision and I am happy about it,” Arata told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

“It’s been a tough process, an anxious wait and a decision that took a lot of thought. But I guess the wait was worth it all,” he was quoted saying by PTI.

Arata received his Indian citizenship on August 24, 2012 and he has also obtained the Indian name Neelkanth Khambholja. His good performances for Pune FC has earned him a debut call-up to India coach Wim Koeverman’s squad for the friendly match against Palestine at Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

“I am very excited to be a part of the national set up. It was one of the biggest reasons to come and play in India and I am really glad it has happened,” Arata said. “The selection was always something I dreamt of the moment I received my Indian passport.”

The India v Palestine match will be the first match in Kerala after a gap of almost nine years [+ read more]. The friendly match is scheduled to kick-off at 18.30 IST / 14.00 CET / 13.00 GMT.

The ticket sales are really promising according to sources in the Kerala Football Association and the Indian team may expect an excellent crowd to support them against the visitors from Palestine.

Star skipper Sunil Chhetri and company will gather in the Keralite city for the international friendly match against Palestine at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on February 6.

The Palestine team are planning to reach Kochi on February 4, while both teams can expect a warm welcome by the football-crazy fans in Kerala.

India coach Wim Koevermans will announce his squad for the match next week and we are likely to see one or two new players in the team.

Koevermans inspected the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium a few days ago and he is satisfied with the conditions and the work going on at the venue.

Kochi is gearing up for the friendly match and I hope we will see a capacity crowd against the visitors from Palestine who are likely to feature seven foreign-based players in their squad.

The Palestine national team scheduled to take on India in an international friendly match on February 6 is expected to feature seven foreign-based players.

Coach Jamal Mahmoud is likely to call-up Omar Jarun (Sporting du Pays de Charleroi, Belgium), Hani Naboulse (Lyngby BK, Denmark), Alexis Norambuena (Jagiellonia Bialystok, Poland), Imad Zatara (Åtvidabergs FF, Sweden), Daniel Mustafá (Club Atlético Boca Unidos, Argentina), Ramzi Saleh (Smouha Sporting Club, Egypt) and Ashraf Nu’man (Al-Faisaly FC, Jordan) for the match at Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh is the most experienced international with 75 caps for his country. Midfielder Khader Yousef (40 caps) and striker Ashraf Nu’man (31 caps) will be two other influential players for the visitors.

18 year old Hani Naboulse is one of the rising talents in Mahmoud’s squad. The young defender plays his football for the U-19 team of Danish 1st Division side Lyngby BK and is also likely to travel to India accordingto sources.

Palestine is currently ranked 152nd in the FIFA World Ranking ahead of the Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Indonesia. The friendly match will be a good test for our Indian team against a strong but beatable opponent.

The Indian Women’s national team is currently preparing for their second friendly match against a Netherlands XI on Sunday. India lost the first match 0-2 at Kolhapur on Thursday and coach Anadi Barua’s team is hoping to give the Dutch visitors a good fight at Navi Mumbai tomorrow.

The Netherlands team touring India is the so-called “KNVB CTO Team”, which is not the senior women’s national team contrary to reports in the recent days. The “KNVB CTO Team” is part of the Royal Dutch Football Association’s (Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond – KNVB) Youth Development Programme called KNVB Youth Plan Niederlande (JPN) in cooperation with the CTO Amsterdam.

The Centrum voor Topsport en Onderwijs (CTO / Centre for Education and Topsport) is based in Amsterdam and it is run as a residential national sports academy providing the best facilities to budding sport stars who are at the verge to make it to the senior level. The best talents from the Netherlands live together at the CTO Amsterdam and they are provided a full-time training programme. Training, studying and living in an optimal combination with minimal travel time is the main objective of the KNVB’s initiative at the CTO.

The “KNVB CTO” Netherlands XI is touring India as part of another initiative by the KNVB called “ClubLinking”. The initiative has the idea to link a Dutch club with a club, team or project in a developing country and to learn to know each others culture, build friendships and acquire knowledge about global issues such as peace building, conflict management, gender differences, climate change and human rights.

The CTO Amsterdam has linked up with Mumbai-based NGO “Magic Bus” and the team has already run a few clinics and social activities in the past few days during their stay in India. The Indian kids enjoyed the activities very much and interacting with the Dutch team has already helped them to learn a lot.

The CTO Amsterdam is a role model concept which would be also a great one to see in India. It would help to gather the talented sport stars of the future and to provide them all needed facilities to mature not only as a sports professional but also as a human being.

Spanish star coach Pep Guardiola has signed a deal with German giants FC Bayern Munich on Wednesday which is undoubtedly one of the biggest football news of the year.

Guardiola will take over from Jupp Heynckes at the end of the season and he will be handed a contract until June 30, 2016 as reported earlier [+ read more]. Heynckes is running out of his contract and the seasoned coach has decided to bid his farewell to professional football.

“We are happy to have reached a deal with a football expert like Pep Guardiola who has been courted and contacted by many renowned club,” chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told in an official statement by the club.

“Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful coaches in the world and we are sure that he will not only dignify Bayern Munich, but German football in general,” said Rummenigge. “We are looking forward to the liaison starting in July 2013.”

“Pep Guardiola was the only suitable replacement for Jupp Heynckes,” Uli Hoeness (Chairman of the Supervisory Board) added.

The deal is most probably the biggest coup in the history of Bayern Munich and it is undoubtedly a sign for the increasing competitiveness and appeal of the German Bundesliga.

Published with permission from www.sportskeeda.com.

The German national team is planning to arrange friendly matches against some of the top teams in preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Joachim Löw’s team will travel to France to take on the neighbours in their first friendly game of the new year on February 6. But the match in Paris is just the start of various exciting encounters in planning for the German national team.

The German federation DFB is in talks with their Brazilian counterparts regarding a match on German soil in August. Further, the Germans would face European archrivals England and Italy in November, if the “Mannschaft” would earn a direct qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup according to National Team Manager Oliver Bierhoff.

The German team will be also touring the United States in May/June to play two friendly matches (May 29 & June 2) against yet to be announced teams. But it seems most likely that Lahm, Schweinsteiger and company would face the US team coached by former Germany gaffer Jürgen Klinsmann on one of the two dates.

The second match during the US Tour could be against Mexico or Jamaica according to sources.

The India vs Palestine international friendly match scheduled to take place on February 6 might be shifted to Delhi due to poor pitch conditions at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is looking for alternative venues and it looks like Delhi is the mostly likely to get the nod. A final decision on the venue for the first international match against Palestine is expected to be announced very soon.

The India vs Palestine match will be played on an official FIFA Match Day.

The countdown is on for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2012 gala which is set to take place at the Kongresshaus in Zurich (Switzerland) on Monday evening.

The world of football is awaiting the announcement of the winners in eight categories including the prestigious FIFA Ballon d’Or (Men) and FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year awards.

The nominees for the awards were compiled by the FIFA Football Committee, the FIFA’s Committee for Women’s Football and a group of experts from France Football.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Andrés Iniesta (Spain) and Lionel Messi (Argentina) have made it to the final list out of a 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award, while Marta (Brazil), Alex Morgan (USA) and Abby Wambach (USA) have been selected from a ten-player shortlist for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award.

Journalists, national coaches and captains have cast their votes in each category and the winners will be announced at the gala scheduled to start at 19.00 CET (23.30 IST / 18.00 GMT).

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi could win the FIFA Ballon d’Or for a fourth consecutive time, but UEFA European Player of the Year award Andres Iniesta is a hot contender to win the prestigous award for the very first time.

The FIFA Ballon d’Or gala will be broadcasted LIVE in many countries and the show will be hosted by English TV presenter Kay Murray and former Dutch international Ruud Gullit. Scottish singer Amy Macdonald will be one of the show acts during the award gala.

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The Award Categories
• FIFA Ballon d’Or
• FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year
• FIFA Men’s Football Coach of the Year
• FIFA Women’s Football Coach of the Year
• FIFA Presidential Award
• FIFA Fair Play Award
• FIFA Puskas Award
• FIFA/FIFPro World XI

AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng is considering an early exit from Italy after being subjected to racist abuse during a friendly match on Thursday.

The German-born Ghanaian international and three other dark-skinned Milan players faced racist chants and abuse during an away match against 4th Division side Aurora Pro Patria 1919. Boateng walked-off the pitch as a consequence of the abuse and he earned a lot of praise for his strong stand over racism.

The 25-year-old Milan player is now considering leaving Italy as a result of the incident. Talking to German newspaper BILD, Boateng told: “It has not failed to leave its mark on me.”

Boateng has stated that there is a need to have a proper thought about it and that he will meet his agent Roger Wittmann next week to discuss the issue.

“We need to see, if there is any sense to continue to play football in Italy,” he told. “It’s a shame that such things still happen in the year 2013 – not only for Italy, but also for football globally.”

“I wanted to set an example that things can’t continue like this. It’s easy to look away, but it’s difficult to take action. But I would have done the same in a UEFA Champions League mach against Real Madrid. And I will continue to do it again,” Boateng said.

Published with permission from www.sportskeeda.com and www.facebook.com/cpd81.

FC Bayern Munich have confirmed their first signing for the new season. The German giants have secured the services of talented German U-21 international Jan Kirchhoff.

Kirchhoff will join the Bavarians on a free transfer from league rivals 1. FSV Mainz 05, and he will be awarded a contract until 2016.

The talented youngster can be fielded as a centre back and/or defensive midfielder. He has played 51 Bundesliga matches so far and he has earned 17 caps for the German U-21 national team.

The Indian national team will face Palestine in an international friendly match on February 6.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati and the Indian team will be hoping for a capacity crowd in the first match of the new year.

Wim Koevermans’ boys will face a team ranked 152nd in the latest FIFA World Ranking. Palestine is a strong opponent and they have displayed their talent in the recently concluded 2012 WAFF Championship.

Palestine finished 3rd in their 2012 WAFF Championship Group A with two narrow defeats (1-2 v Kuwait & 1-2 v Oman) and a win (1-0 v Lebanon).

The India v Palestine match will be played on an official FIFA Match Day. Check out the full list of FIFA Match Days in 2013.

Brazilian football superstar and former FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, commonly known as Ronaldinho, has arrived in Pune today.

The 32-year old former Brazilian international arrived in the city to announce the launch of his upcoming movie project produced by Bala Entertainment International, which is owned by the Venky’s, who also happen to own EPL side Blackburn Rovers.

The movie will be an animated blockbuster comparable to “Space Jam” (1996) featuring basketball legend Michael “Air” Jordan.

Ronaldinho will face the media along with Balaji Rao (Managing Director, Bala Entertainment International) at a function at the Le Méridien hotel on Friday.

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is also expected to attend the event tomorrow.

The Indian national team has moved up three spots in the latest FIFA World Ranking released today. India is now ranked 166th in the world and 31st in Asia with a total of 96 points.

Vanuatu (165th) and Belize (167th) are ahead of and behind India respectively in the latest rankings, while Maldives (159th) are still the best team in South Asia.

Spain remains at the top of the table with 1606 points ahead of Germany (1437 points) and Argentina (1290 points). Italy (1165 points) and Colombia (1164 points) complete the Top 5.

Five-time FIFA World Champions Brazil are ranked 18th in the world, which is their worst-ever ranking since the introduction of the FIFA World Ranking in 1993.

Published with permission from www.sportskeeda.com and www.facebook.com/cpd81.

Paolo Guerrero of Corinthians celebrates after scoring during the FIFA Club World Cup Final Match between Corinthians and Chelsea at International Stadium Yokohama.

Brazilian side Corinthians São Paulo have won the FIFA Club World Cup 2012 in an exciting final against Chelsea FC at the International Stadium Yokohama, Japan.

Chelsea FC had the first chance of the game when Gary Cahill’s shot from a close range was saved by Corinthians’ keeper Cássio in the 10th minute.

Corinthians needed almost half an hour to produce their first good attempt on target in a competitive match. Emerson almost took advantage of poor defending by the EPL side, but his shot from the edge of the box was well wide.

Chelsea’s Victor Moses had the chance to put his side in the lead moments later, when a well-timed pass by Eden Hazard found the Nigerian international. But Moses failed to get the ball down and a Brazilian defender quickly cleared the situation.

Both teams increased the pace and there was no time to take a rest for either of the two teams. Corinthians striker Paolo Guerrero caused more worries to Chelsea boss Rafa Benítez, when the former Bayern Munich star blasted to the English box and his shot missed the target to just find Emerson. Emerson was quick to react but his shot hit the post and went wide.

Moses had been a live wire throughout the first half. The young Nigerian forced Corinthians keeper Cássio to display most likely the save of the tournament in the 39th minute, when the Brazilian tipped a curling shot past the post to keep the scoreline 0-0 at half-time.

Chelsea tried to score an early goal in the second half, but various attempts were denied by the Brazilian side coached by Tite. It seemed like it would be just a matter of time to see the UEFA Champions League champions taking the lead, but Corinthians kept fighting and they found a way back in the game.

Corinthians looked the better side at the hour mark and Paulinho fired in an attempt just to see it go wide in the 64th minute. Paulo Guerrero broke the deadlock when the Peruvian international took advantage of a well played attack by Corinthians and found the back of the net with a close range header past three Chelsea players on the line in the 69th minute.

The 2012 Copa Libertadores champions increased the pressure after the goal and pushed hard to score a second quick goal and to put a final nail in the coffin.

Gary Cahill was red-carded for a bad tackle in the closing stages of the match.

The scorline remained 1-0 in favour of Corinthians till the final whistle was blown. The Brazilians won the FIFA Club World Cup for a second time after winning the inaugural tournament in 2000.

Meanwhile, CF Monterrey have clinched the 3rd Place at the FIFA Club World Cup 2012 with a 2-0 win against Egyptian outfit Al Ahly SC earlier in the day. Jesus Corona (3′) and Cesar Delgado (66′) hit the target for the Mexican side.

Published with permission from www.sportskeeda.com and www.facebook.com/cpd81!

The Indian national team will face Guam in Group A of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers and Guam’s national team Head Coach cum Technical Director Gary White is quite optimistic about the prospects for his side to advance to the finals.

The “Matao” is ranked 181st in the FIFA World Ranking and they have a mountain to climb in a qualifying group which seems to be in favour of the Indian team (169th). But Myanmar (156th) is the highest ranked team in the group and a tough side to beat, while Chinese Taipei (176th) completes the group line-up.

The country from the western Pacific Ocean is planning to pull a few surprises at the qualifiers, which will be played in a one-round league in Myanmar on March 2, 4 and 6 [+ read more].

“I think if we can secure our best players for the Challenge Cup in March, we can be a real contender to qualify,” Englishman White told the Pacific News Center (PNC).

“We can build off the fantastic performances against Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei from the EAFF (East Asian Cup) semifinals, where we shocked the footballing world with the improvements we have made in the past year. We will be able to also pull from playing against two 2010 FIFA World Cup teams,” he continued.

“The Challenge Cup matches will be another excellent opportunity to expose the Matao playing style, our program and our players,” White told. “Believe me, the other teams now take us seriously as a competitive football nation.”

Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States and therefore many of the players are based in the US. Ten players called up for the recently concluded 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary Round 2 are playing their football with clubs in the States.

Ryan Guy is one of the stars in the team. Guy plays for the New England Revolution in the Major League Soccer (MLS) and he has been a regular for them in league competition. Goalkeeper Doug Herrick (Seattle Sounders FC U23, USA) and defender Shawn Nicklaw (HB Køge, Denmark) are just two other players who need to mentioned.

Guam might look like an easy team to beat while looking on the FIFA World Ranking, but the squad is much better than one would expect. It will be an interesting challenge for our Indian national team and Wim Koevermans’ boys need to be careful in their first-ever international against Guam.

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup – Preliminary Round 2 – Guam’s Result
01.12.2012 | Guam 1-2 Hong Kong
03.12.2012 | DPR Korea 5-0 Guam
05.12.2012 | Chinese Taipei 1-1 Guam
07.12.2012 | Guam 0-9 Australia

Published with permission from www.sportskeeda.com and www.facebook.com/cpd81.