German Cup: First Round full of surprises

The first round of the German Cup (DFB Pokal) has been played over the weekend with one match to be played tonight between 2.Bundesliga pacesetters Eintracht Branschweig and record champions FC Bayern München.

It has not been a good weekend for the top Bundesliga clubs. Already four clubs are out after losing against lower division rivals, while some had to struggle to move on. It started Friday night when ambitious fourth Division side RB Leipzig beat 2009 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg 3-2. Then on Saturday third Division 1.FC Heidenheim won 2-1 against SV Werder Bremen, who have been a number of times to the cup final in recent years; while Bayer 04 Leverkusen lost 3-4 in extra-time against 2.Bundesliga side Dynamo Dresden after having been 3-0 up. On Sunday then third Division SpVgg Unterhaching won 3-2 against SC Freiburg.

Meanwhile on Sunday 1899 Hoffenheim needed extra-time to win 3-1 against sixth Division Germania Windeck, while FSV Mainz 05 just about beat fifth Division SVN Zweibrücken 2-1 in extra-time with a regular goal and penalty not given for the minnows. Earlier on Saturday FC Augsburg needed a late minute goal in extra-time to win 2-1 against third Division RW Oberhausen.

Defending champions FC Schalke 04 scored the biggest win of the opening round, a 11-1 win against seventh Division C Teningen; while Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, who have had problems in the cup in recent years, won 3-0 against third Division SV Sandhausen.


DFB POKAL - Round 1 Results

RW Essen 4-3 Union Berlin (on penalties)
RB Leipzig 3-2 VfL Wolfsburg
1.FC Saarbrücken 1-3 Erzgebirge Aue (in extra-time)
Jahn Regensburg 1-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Wehen Wiesbaden 1-2 VfB Stuttgart
VfL Osnabrück 2-3 TSV 1860 München (in extra-time)
BFC Dynamo Berlin 0-3 1.FC Kaiserslautern
Hallescher FC 0-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
1.FC Heidenheim 2-1 SV Werder Bremen
Dynamo Dresden 4-3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen (in extra-time)
Eintracht Trier 2-1 FC St. Pauli
Arminia Bielefeld 1-5 1.FC Nürnberg
RW Ahlen 0-10 SC Paderborn 07
SV Babelsberg 03 0-2 MSV Duisburg
VfB Oldenburg 1-2 Hamburger SV
Holstein Kiel 3-0 FC Energie Cottbus
SV Sandhausen 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Kickers Emden 1-5 FSV Frankfurt (in extra-time)
Hansa Rostock 3-5 VfL Bochum (on penalties)
RW Oberhausen 1-2 FC Augsburg (in extra-time)
FC Oberneuland 1-4 FC Ingolstadt
SpVgg Unterhaching 3-2 SC Freiburg
Karlsruher SC 3-1 Alemannia Aachen
Eimsbüttler TV 0-10 SpVgg Greuther Fürth
Anker Wismar 0-6 Hannover 96
ZFC Meuselwitz 0-4 Hertha BSC Berlin
Germania Windeck 1-3 1899 Hoffenheim (in extra-time)
FC Teningen 1-11 FC Schalke 04
Hessen Kassel 0-3 Fortuna Düsseldorf
SVN Zweibrücken 1-2 FSV Mainz 05 (in extra-time)
SC Wiedenbrück 2000 0-3 1.FC Köln
Eintracht Branschweig - FC Bayern München (on Monday evening)

U-16 SAFF Cup: Complete Fixtures out

The first-ever edition of the Under-16 boys South Asian Football Federation Championships (SAFF Cup) will be played from August 1 to 10, 2011 in Kathmandu Nepal. Earlier today the draw for the two groups of six teams each was carried out.

Our India Under-16 boys face Pakistan and the Maldives in Group A, while in Group B Sri Lanka take on hosts Nepal and Bangladesh. The matches will be played at Kathmandu's Dasrath Stadium for the next 10 days.

SAFF General Secretary Alberto Colaco is quite confident that this endeavour will mark a new beginning for SAFF in terms of conducting age group tournaments and said, "It's necessary to give a good exposure to the U-16 Boys before they participate in the AFC U-16 qualification."

"The condition in the SAFF regions are not ideal as compared to Europe. But, I know it's a good beginning and things will move ahead in right direction." Alberto added.

Meanwhile India Under-16 coach Thomas Joseph is quite confident of a good show from his boys and believes that his side will excel in the tournament.

"We have a balanced side and all the boys are good," Thomas said. "We have prepared very well for this tournament and will try to put our best forward right from the outset," Thomas further added.

Thomas also said, "The condition here are different but the boys are ready to deal with any situation." Some teams are a little weiry of the altitude which could be an issue for them.


FIXTURES

GROUP A
August 1: INDIA U16 - Pakistan U16
August 3: Maldives U16 - Pakistan U16
August 5: INDIA U16 - Maldives U16

GROUP B
August 2: Sri Lanka U16 - Bangladesh U16
August 4: Nepal U16 - Bangladesh U16
August 6: Sri Lanka U16 - Nepal U16

SEMIFINALS
August 8: Winner Group A - Runners-Up B
August 8: Winner Group B - Runners-Up A

FINAL PLACEMENT DAY
August 9: Third Placed Team Group A - Third Placed Team Group B
August 10: Loser of Semifinal 1 vs Loser of Semifinal 2
August 10: Winner of Semifinal 1 vs Winner of Semifinal 2

FIFA World Cup qualification draws for 2014 in Brazil

The FIFA 2014 World Cup has been scheduled to feature 32 national teams from FIFA six continental confederations. Only the host, The 5 times world cup champions, Brazil will be allowed to participate in world cup finals without competing in qualification draw.. Spain, World cup and European Champions will join other 30 national teams in competing for their place in World cup finals.
The preliminary draw of the 2014 FIFA World Cup draw was made on 30 July 2011 at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 32 world cup place distribution
1. Europe (UEFA): 13 places
2. Africa (CAF): 5 places
3. Asia (AFC): 4 or 5 places
4. South America (CONMEBOL) 4 or 5 places (Brazil host)
5. North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 or 4 places
6. Oceania (OFC): 0 or 1 place

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification for European zone-UEFA
The road to 2014 world cup for European zone teams will kick off on August 2012 after the Euro 2012. 53 national teams will compete for 13 allocated places for this zone. 9 group winners will automatically enter the world cup finals and eight best runners-up will face play-off for the remaining 4 places.

France recent poor performance pushed them to 15 in FIFA World Rankings world wide and have been drawn with World cup champions, Spain. In the last world cup play-off, France won a controversial play-off win over Ireland to qualify for the 2010 World cup inals in South Africa. France coach Laurent Blanc speaking to French FA's website, he said "At least we won't receive the tag of favourites with the world champions and European champions in our group. It's extremely exciting to compete with the best. It's through such matches that we can improve.''
''It'd be a lie to say that we're in an easy group. But we will focus on our task and France will take its chances as usual.
''Spain will definitely be our toughest opponent in the group. But I have confidence in our team and the goal will be to advance in first place.''

Emirates Cup 2011 Final: VIDEO highlights, New York Red Bulls drew 1-1 with Arsenal to win the cup, PSG runner-up after 3-0 victory

Paris St German had 3-0 victory over Boca Juniors and ended the Argentineans dreams of lifting the Emirates Cup. Jean-Eudes Maurice, Guillaume Hoarau and Marcos Ceara scored for PSG to console the French from suprise defeate on the first game.

After the first match in day two of the competition; Arsenal hopes of retaining the Emirates cup are high again. Arsenal needed a win over New York Red Bulls to claim their fourth Emirates cup, third in succession. Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bulls needed a draw to see them lift the title. Once again Arsenal failed to protect their one nil lead, a goal from Robin van Persie soft header. Thierry Henry assisted Juan Agudelo whose cross was turned into his own net by Bartley.

Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Winner
2007	Arsenal	Paris Saint-Germain	Valencia	Internazionale	Arsenal
2008	Hamburg	Real Madrid	Arsenal	Juventus	Hamburg
2009	Arsenal	Rangers	Atlético Madrid	Paris Saint-Germain	Arsenal
2010	Arsenal	Celtic	Lyon	Milan	Arsenal
2011	Arsenal	Paris Saint-Germain	New York Red Bulls	Club Atlético Boca Juniors	New York Red Bulls

'The better man won' - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton held a commanding lead early in the race © Getty Images

Enlarge

Lewis Hamilton refused to blame his team and said that "the better man won" as he endured a difficult Hungarian Grand Prix to finished fourth.

Hamilton led early in the race and looked favourite for victory as he built up a nine second lead by the half way point. With his team-mate Jenson Button in second place McLaren looked to have the race under control, but then the decision to put on supersoft tyres during the third pit stop while Button, Vettel and Webber put on softs with 30 laps to go proved costly.

Hamilton was slower and had to make an extra pit stop, while a rain shower also caused him to spin and lose his lead, before getting a drive through for forcing Paul di Resta off the track as he recovered. Hamilton said he had struggled with his front left tyre, but was full of praise for the race winner.

"First of all congratulations to Jenson," Hamilton said to the BBC. "He was pushing me hard the whole race and the better man won today, he did a fantastic job and congratulations to the team.

"It was an intense race, we obviously got a good start, did great for the first half of the race - I was struggling a lot with the graining on my left front tyre, I don't know if it was my fault for pushing too much - then I had a big mistake. Again my left front tyre was pretty worn so I went a bit wide, came out of the chicane and spun which is very very rare, I think it's one of the first times I've spun. And then after that I have to apologise to Paul di Resta, I didn't see him, so I had absolutely no clue - I don't know where or what happened - but I got a penalty for something which is to be expected I guess sometimes, so I apologise to him."

Hamilton then pitted for intermediate tyres, a decision which dropped him out of the running for a podium, and he refused to blame his team for the error as he it was suffering with communication problems.

"We were having radio issues and I could hear my engineers but they couldn't hear me. So I was constantly asking them for information but they couldn't hear me so it was a very difficult call for them. I think perhaps at one point they got some information from me and I heard them say it was going to rain and it was already spitting so we opted to go for the wet tyres. I think they called me in and I did the lap, anyway the tyres went off, it wasn't necessarily the best call but that's motor racing."

After a frustrating afternoon, Hamilton said that the pace of the car and Button's win showed the level of McLaren's improvement.

"I think we can definitely say that the team has done a fantastic job. For us (he and Button) to both be the most competitive this weekend I think is a fantastic way to go in to the break. Of course we would have loved a one-two, I feel like I let the team down a little bit, but we'll bounce back at the next race."

ESPNF1

Button felt win was possible after first stint

Jenson Button celebrates in parc ferme © Getty Images

Enlarge

Jenson Button has revealed that he felt his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix was possible right from the moment he took on his first set of slicks on lap 12.

Button worked his way up to second after his first pit stop and then attacked Lewis Hamilton for the lead in his final stint. After a tense battle, Hamilton then had to make two extra pit stops and serve a drive-through penalty, giving Button a clear run to the finish. But the race winner said he felt the win was possible much earlier in the race.

"It's very easy to say now, but personally I felt [a win was possible] at the end of the first stint," he said. "I felt that I was able to look after the tyres for the remainder of the first stint. I think that halfway through people began struggling and I was able to push on and the car felt really good. I think I was about three seconds behind Lewis when he pitted on the first stop, he'd pulled in about a second a lap up to that point.

"So at that point I knew that I was in good shape, the car was working well for me and I thought it was a matter of time in the dry conditions for us to get the jump on Lewis, because at the end of the stints he was struggling. Obviously it turned out a little bit differently with the rain coming down, it was difficult on the prime tyre - those aren't the conditions for those tyres - but a lot of fun all the same. It's always fun racing with Lewis, I think we're pretty fair, I don't think we touched this time and it was great to come away with a victory this time."

He said a win was the best possible way to enter the four week summer break and to mark his 200th grand prix start.

ESPNF1

"It's good having a couple of weeks break because it might take me that long to get over tonight," Button added. "This is the first place where I won a grand prix back in 2006, in these sorts of conditions, and this is my 200th race and we've won here again. For some reason I like these conditions, don't ask me why, but it was a great call by the team to put me on the prime tyre when they did. And I think a great call by all of us when we decided not to go to the inters.

"All round, an amazing weekend and I want to say a big thank you to the whole team; the mechanics, the engineers, everyone within the team who have worked so hard to produce the car that we have now. I think we're going into the break on a nice high, but I think every day that we're on holiday we're going to be thinking about Spa already. I'm excited about coming back and hopefully doing the same again."

Sky/BBC deal 'saved free-to-air' F1 coverage in UK

Williams chairman Adam Parr believes Bernie Ecclestone did the right thing in putting together that BBC/Sky shared broadcast deal for next year - because there was a risk of Formula 1 coverage being off free-to-air television entirely.

While British fans remain angry about the prospect of not being able to watch every race live on the BBC from 2012, Parr says that those unhappy about the move should actually be happy that Ecclestone has managed to keep at least some races on the channel.

Although sympathetic that fans will feel they are worse off in 2012, Parr says that they must take into consideration that they could have been even worse off if the Sky/BBC share deal had not come together.

"I can understand why a British fan who has had free non-advert coverage, amazing content, and brilliant presenters will be saying that anything else is going to be less good," explained Parr.

"I am sorry that the BBC could not carry on doing what they are doing, but they made that decision. I don't think that the fees being charged to the BBC are unreasonable compared to Wimbledon or any other major sports event.

"I am sympathetic, but to be fair the teams have not had any involvement in this. We don't negotiate these deals, but when Bernie briefed us as a group about this, the universal view was, okay we get it. We understand why you've done it. We see the benefits; we know where you are coming from - fair enough."

When asked by AUTOSPORT if there was a prospect that F1 could even have been off free-to-air television totally with the BBC unable to continue its current contract, Parr said: "I think that is true. I think Bernie put this deal together to ensure that the fans would have as much of what they have been enjoying as possible."

He added: "If you are Bernie, and you are looking at the situation where your current partner is stopping – what do you do? I think he has sat back and put together something which is the best that could be done under the circumstances."

Amid scepticism about claims that the Sky/BBC deal could actually boost viewing figures in the UK, as Ecclestone has argued, a number of sponsors have expressed private concern about the impact the deal could have on the sport's popularity in 2012.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh insisted, however, that he was not too worried about the situation.

"I don't think there are any [concerns] here. I think that is just speculation," he said when asked if he had any fears of dwindling sponsorship revenue because of smaller viewing figures.

"At the moment we have to do a careful analysis of it, but the view yesterday was that the viewership would increase as a consequence of the amount of time and coverage that F1 will present – because you have got BBC and Sky competing.

"You have got deferred coverage as well, and for a lot of grands prix it will frankly probably be better to have it in the UK a few hours later in any case.

"I think we have to be aware of that. It is important in the UK market that we have as much coverage as possible."

Autosport

Jenson Button WON in his 200th GP

Jenson Button claimed victory in his 200th grand prix as he perfectly judged an absorbing race in changeable weather in Hungary.

McLaren could have had a one-two, with Lewis Hamilton leading much of the race, but a tyre strategy misjudgement and a penalty ruined Hamilton's afternoon.

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel had to settle for second, ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and the recovering Hamilton.

McLaren had taken the advantage early in a race that began on a damp track with everyone on intermediates, Hamilton attacking Vettel relentlessly through the opening laps as both slid around in a dice more reminiscent of a karting scrap than Formula 1.

The lead finally changed on lap five, when Vettel ran wide at Turn 2 and Hamilton breezed past and pulled away, soon extending a four-second lead over the championship leader, who was at least able to drop Button at this stage.

Laps 10 to 13 saw all the leaders decide the track was ready for slicks, and coming in one lap sooner than Vettel paid off for Button, who made the most of this warmer tyres and greater confidence to take second place into Turn 2.

Mark Webber pulled off the same move on Alonso for fourth at the same time. The Ferrari had lost ground through the first corner on the opening lap, then charged back up the order despite two minor trips off the road.

The relatively serene middle phase of the race saw Hamilton holding a comfortable gap over Button, who had a similar 5s advantage back to Vettel, while Webber fended off Alonso 10s behind them.

Alonso decided to make a relatively early third pitstop and take another set of super softs, while all the other leaders except Hamilton switched to the harder softs at this point.

That burst of pace allowed Alonso to jump both Red Bulls during his rapid laps before they pitted, though the tyres then began to wear and he lost third to Vettel again.

Hamilton followed the same strategy as Alonso, which left him looking very vulnerable to Button, but in the event the return of the rain rendered these tactics rather irrelevant.

The sudden shower hit on lap 47, causing Hamilton to spin at the chicane. He tried to rejoin as quickly as possible, but could not prevent Button taking the lead - and also forced Paul di Resta's lapped Force India off the road as he rotated, a move that would ultimately earn Hamilton a penalty.

With the rain increasing, Button slipped up at Turn 2 four laps later, allowing Hamilton back into the lead. Button retaliated on the following lap and briefly regained first place on the pits straight, only to go wide again at Turn 2 as the top spot was exchanged yet again.

But just as Hamilton moved back into first, he made what turned out to be the costly decision to pit again for intermediates. It was obvious almost immediately that this was the wrong call, as the rain rapidly vanished, and the Briton was soon back in for slicks. His drive-through penalty for nearly wiping out di Resta soon followed, dropping him to sixth and leaving Button clear to win.

The 2009 champion briefly came under pressure from Vettel, but had the pace to pull away again and clinch his second victory of the year.

With Webber also switching to intermediates unnecessary, Alonso regained third, which he held despite a quick late spin.

Hamilton battled back to fourth ahead of Webber, with Felipe Massa recovering from an early spin to sixth.

Kamui Kobayashi tried to go the distance on just two tyre stops and held seventh heading into the closing stages, albeit with a massive queue of cars chasing his Sauber. The plan did not work, and he had to pit for fresh rubber after tumbling down the order, as Paul di Resta (Force India) came through to seventh and Sebastien Buemi turned 23rd on the grid into an eighth place for Toro Rosso.

Mercedes only took ninth place, Nico Rosberg having also pitted for intermediates late on. Michael Schumacher had a gearbox problem shortly after spinning while dicing with Massa in the opening stages. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) clashed with Kobayashi during their late battle but still took 10th.

Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Sergio Perez (Sauber) saw their great qualifying results wasted in a first lap incident that delayed both.

One of the most spectacular incidents of this highly eventful race befell Nick Heidfeld, whose Renault caught fire in the pit exit after a long stop, with a minor explosion on its left-hand side as the marshals dealt with the blaze.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Mixed conditions.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h43:42.337
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     3.588
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    19.819
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    48.338
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    49.742
 6.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:17.176
 7.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 9.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap
10.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
11.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
12.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +    2 laps
15.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    2 laps
16.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
17.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    4 laps
18.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
19.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    5 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    5 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:23.415

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault                56
Schumacher    Mercedes                     27
Heidfeld      Renault                      24
Trulli        Lotus-Renault                18


World Championship standings, round 11:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       234        1.  Red Bull-Renault          383
 2.  Webber       149        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          280
 3.  Hamilton     146        3.  Ferrari                   215
 4.  Alonso       145        4.  Mercedes                   80
 5.  Button       134        5.  Renault                    66
 6.  Massa         70        6.  Sauber-Ferrari             35
 7.  Rosberg       48        7.  Force India-Mercedes       26
 8.  Heidfeld      34        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         22
 9.  Schumacher    32        9.  Williams-Cosworth           4
10.  Petrov        32       
11.  Kobayashi     27       
12.  Sutil         18       
13.  Buemi         12       
14.  Alguersuari   10       
15.  Di Resta       8       
16.  Perez          8       
17.  Barrichello    4       
       
All timing unofficial

Autosport

VIDEO: India - Football's Lost Frontier

This is a must watch for Indian football fans & those interested, but it is only the teaser of a documentary on Indian football through the eyes of the Indian owners of Queens Park Rangers FC, the Mittal family, and their association with the South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenge.

The guys from Ad Hoc Films were lucky enough to uncover this story very late in the day. A fascinating account of a re-emerging interest in Indian football (considered by all the major clubs to be the last frontier of untapped talent) and the journey of two children plucked from the streets of Mumbai and flown to the UK to train with Premiership club QPR.


A must watch for all Indian football fans!

DRAFT FOR BRAZIL 2014.......SORTEO PARA BRASIL 2014

Este dia se llevo a cabo el sorteo para el Mundial Brasil 2014 y los grupos quedan de la siguiente manera..

Los grupos en el resumen:

Grupo A: Croacia, Serbia, Belgica, Escocia, Macedonia, Gales

Grupo B: Italia, Dinamarca, Republica Checa, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta

Grupo C: Alemania, Suecia, Irlanda, Austria, Islas Feroe, Kazajstán

Grupo D: Paises Bajos, Turquia, Hungria, Rumania, Estonia, Andorra

Grupo C: Noruega, Eslovenia, Suiza, Albania, Chipre, Islandia

Grupo F: Portugal, Russia, Israel, Irlanda del Norte, Azerbaiyan, Luxemburgo

Grupo C: Grecia, Slovaquia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lituania, Letonia, Liechtenstein

Grupo H: Bretana, Montenegro, Ucrania, Polonia, Moldovia, San Marino

Grupo I: Espana, Francia, Bielorrusia, Georgia, Finlandia

Sesa Football Academy felicitate former trainees

Goa's Sesa Football Academy last night felicitated three of their former Academy players - Micky Fernandes (Dempo SC), Rowilson Rodrigues (Dempo SC), Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers SC) - who have now gone on to represent India at international level.

The three boys where part of the 2002 to 2006 batch and have gone on to play for some of the biggest clubs in India besides representing the nation at junior and senior level. The three were all awarded Rs 100,000 (1 lakh) as a friendly gesture from the company for the services to football.

All three footballers thanked Sesa Goa, the Academy administration and coaches for what they are today with former coach Vishwas Gaonkar coming in for special praise in having helped the players develop at a crucial time of their careers.

The Sesa Football Academy was started in 1999 following the closure of the senior team in 1998 after they did not reach the top tier of the National Football League. Since then the focus has been on development of young talent. In 2008 the Sesa Group added a senior team to the Academy still with a focus on youth talent, especially players who have gone through the Academy system to play in the Goa Professional League and the 2nd Division I-League.

The function was held at the Academy premises and was attended by the Sesa Goa MD P.K. Mukherjee, who himself has been a positive factor behind the Academy; Irishman Terry Phelan, SFA's chief mentor; Dr. Bhatikar, SFA's administrator-cum-physician; advisor Brahmanand Shankwalkar; former coach Vishwas Gaonkar; coaches Clifford Chukuwama, Anthony D'Sousa, Agostinho Antao and Ajay Acharya.

Emirates Cup 2011: Club Atlético Boca Juniors hold Arsenal to 2-2 draw

Arsenal FC failed to capitalize on 2-0 lead and allowed Boca Juniors to level the score to 2-2 due to defensive horror the Emirates Cup second match. Gervinho having score two on his debut he set up Robin van Persie for first goal before Aaron Ramsey double the score. The previous seasons Arsenal defensive error still have no remedy as Sebastien Squillaci and Johan Djourou allowed two gift goals in 4 minutes. The defensive problem might push Arsene Wenger to try hadder to sign Phil Jagielka; Everton's center half. Lucas Viatri bagged the goal for Bocar Junior before Pablo Mouche successfully completed the come back. Earlier New York Red Bulls beats PSG 1-0. Arsenal will play Thierry Henry's New York Red Bulls, while Club Atlético Boca Juniors will face PSG on Sunday.

Emirates Cup 2011: New York Red Bulls beat Paris St Germain 1-0, Joel Lindpere on target

Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls defeated beat Paris St Germain 1-0 curtain raiser match of the Emirates Cup. It was Joel Lindpere netted the only goal of the match on 27 minutes. PSG have joined the big spending club and managed to secured Javier Pastore signature for £38 million. The revolution has come 2 months ago after Qatar Investment Authority bought a controlling stake in the club. New York Red Bulls will player Arsenal tomorrow and the former Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry will be trying to score against his former club. PSG take on Boca Juniors. In another game Arsenal and Boca Juniors drew 2-2 as the visitor came from 2-0 down.

Webber blames no DRS on the straight, cold tyres for poor qualifying

Mark Webber blamed having no DRS and cold tyres for his disappointing qualifying performance ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Australian will start from sixth position, his worst qualifying since the Chinese Grand Prix, after finishing over six tenths off the pace in the final shootout.

Webber explained after qualifying that he had done the main straight of his final Q3 run without DRS enabled because of an error when activating it.


He had also been held up for Jenson Button during his out-lap, which means his tyres were not at the perfect temperature.

The Red Bull driver said his times after Turn 5 had been the same as team-mate's Sebastian Vettel, on pole today.

"It wasn't the smoothest session," said Webber. "Basically if you look at the last lap, which is the most important one I was very optimistic about doing a pretty good job.

"The problem really started on the out-lap because the McLarens were too slow. We need more pace than that and I couldn't go any quicker because Jenson wouldn't let me pass, which is fair enough. It's all fair game and I would do the same thing.

"Because it was my first lap onto the start/finish with KERS and DRS, it looks like I tried to activate the DRS a bit early and it didn't respond, so I did the whole straight without the DRS and I didn't notice because I used the KERS.

"That, in combination with Jenson, meant my first sector was a complete disaster. And from Turn 5 until the end of the lap it was identical to Sebastian."

Autosport

EPL side Queens Park Rangers set to be sold?

English Premier League newcomers Queens Park Ranger FC are in talks with a potential buyer. But not all stakeholders of the West London club are involved in the talks over the sale. The majority owner Bernie Ecclestone and minority stakeholder Flavio Briatore are said to be in talks with Air Asia chief Tony Fernandes, while another owner in Lakshmi N. Mittal's family is said not to be involved.

A press release from QPR yesterday said
On 4th March 2011 the Company (QPR Holdings Limited) announced that it was in preliminary discussions with a potential purchaser.
At the time the Takeover Panel confirmed that should those discussions result in an offer being made for the Company, the offer would be subject to the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the Code), even if such an offer was made after 2nd April 2011, being the date on which the Company ceased to be subject to the Code, due to it being de-listed 10 years previously.

The Company confirms that these discussions came to an end in March 2011.
Since the end of these discussions, the Company has entered into preliminary discussions with a different party and can confirm that these discussions and any subsequent transaction would not be subject to the Code.
Accordingly the Company confirms that it is no longer in an offer period for the purposes of the Code.

An offer of around 100 Million Pounds has come in from Tony Fernandes which the Ecclestone/Briatore are considering to accept. Earlier in the year the Mittal family had offered around 50 Million Pounds for a complete takeover of the club, but it had been turned down. Last year United Breweries Group chairman Vijay Mallya from India had made a lower bid for the then English Championships (Division 2), but only the Ecclestone/Briatore shares which the duo had turned it down.

Interesting to note about Tony Fernandes' interest is that over the last season he twice tried to buy east London side West Ham United, even saying he is a big Hammers fan; now he seems to have set his sight on their west London rivals after failing to land the Hammers.

With Queens Park Ranger not spending much in the transfer market after their return to the Premier League after 15 years a quick decision if the sale is done or not is needed, so if a new investor comes in he could splash some cash to strengthen Neil Warnock's team.

fernando alonso

fernando alonso

fernando alonso

fernando alonso

fernando alonso

fernando alonso

Fernando Torres scores as Chelsea beat Aston Villa 2-0 to win Barclays Asia Trophy

Fernando Torres score as Chelsea lifted the Asia Trophy with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Hong Kong Stadium. The spanish international directed Florent Malouda's shot to beat Shay Given. Early Josh McEachran had scored the opener.Chelsea's Boss Andre Villas-Boas made several changes to try different forwards combination

alonso xabi

alonso xabi

alonso xabi

alonso xabi

alonso xabi

Vettel beats McLarens to Hungarian Grand Prix pole

Sebastian Vettel maintained Red Bull's 100 per cent pole position record this year as he stormed to the head of the Hungarian Grand Prix grid with a flying late effort in qualifying.

The world champion had been trailing behind Lewis Hamilton as he began his second and final effort at the end of Q3, but saved his best until last as he lapped the Hungaroring in 1m19.815s, just 0.163 seconds ahead of the McLaren driver.

Jenson Button made it two McLarens inside the front three while a superb late effort by Felipe Massa gave him fourth spot, demoting his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso to fifth and the Red Bull of last year's race winner Mark Webber to sixth.

Adrian Sutil was a superb eighth for Force India, splitting Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher as the trio - unlike the top six - only undertook a single flying lap in Q3. Sergio Perez, who will start 10th for Sauber, did not bother going out at all.

There was a gap of almost two seconds from first to 10th with a couple of minutes of Q2 remaining, the result of which was that the top seven at that moment - led by Button - did not undertake second runs.

All of those drivers had done enough to make it into Q3, but behind them the order was constantly changing. Late flyers for Sutil and Schumacher brought the Force India and Mercedes drivers into the top 10 after the chequered flag had come out.

The big loser was Sutil's team-mate Paul di Resta, who was bumped back to 11th. The Renaults of Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld were 12th and 14th, split by Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber, while Rubens Barrichello and Jaime Alguersuari were next up for Williams and Toro Rosso.

Barrichello's team-mate Pastor Maldonado did not venture out in Q2, after the Venezuelan pulled himself into the session at the very end of Q1 with a flying lap. The Williams driver knocked Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso out of the reckoning.

The star of Q1 was Heikki Kovalainen, who put his Lotus 19th and just over 0.1s behind Buemi.

Behind him were his team-mate Jarno Trulli, Virgin's Timo Glock and Hispania drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Daniel Ricciardo, all of whom will move ahead of Buemi once his five-place grid penalty for colliding with Heidfeld in German last weekend is applied.

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m19.815s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m19.978s  + 0.163
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m20.024s  + 0.209
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m20.350s  + 0.535
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m20.365s  + 0.550
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m20.474s  + 0.659
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m21.098s  + 1.283
 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m21.445s  + 1.630
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m21.907s  + 2.092
10.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m23.067s                                   Gap **
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m22.256s   + 1.994
12.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m22.284s   + 2.022
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m22.435s   + 2.173
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m22.470s   + 2.208
15.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m22.684s   + 2.422
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m22.979s   + 2.717
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m23.285s                                    Gap *
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m24.070s  + 2.492
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m24.362s  + 2.784
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m24.534s  + 2.956
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.294s  + 4.716
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m26.323s  + 4.745
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m26.479s  + 4.901
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.510s  + 4.932

107% time: 1m27.288s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

Autosport

Serie A fixtures for 2011 - 2012, Milan Derby, Derby della Madonnina on 18 and 37 rounds

Serie A league will kick off on August 28 2011 and end on May 13 2012. The Milan Derby, Derby della Madonnina have been scheduled on Jan 15 2012 round 18 and May 06 2012 round 37. In a tight league the milan derby could be an important league decider. All three promoted teams, Atlanta, Siena and Novara will start they campaign at home playing against Cesena, Florentina and Palermo respectively. The fixture are subject to some changes. See other European league fixtures at Premier league and La liga fixtures.

Serie A clubs logos

Round 1: Sun 28/08/11
Atalanta	vs	Cesena
Bologna	vs	Roma
Cagliari	vs	Milan
Internazionale	vs	Lecce
Lazio	vs	Chievo
Napoli	vs	Genoa
Novara	vs	Palermo
Parma	vs	Catania
Siena	vs	Fiorentina
Udinese	vs	Juventus
Round 2: Sun 11/09/11
Catania	vs	Siena
Cesena	vs	Napoli
Chievo	vs	Novara
Fiorentina	vs	Bologna
Genoa	vs	Atalanta
Juventus	vs	Parma
Lecce	vs	Udinese
Milan	vs	Lazio
Palermo	vs	Internazionale
Roma	vs	Cagliari
Round 3: Sun 18/09/11
Atalanta	vs	Palermo
Bologna	vs	Lecce
Cagliari	vs	Novara
Catania	vs	Cesena
Internazionale	vs	Roma
Lazio	vs	Genoa
Napoli	vs	Milan
Parma	vs	Chievo
Siena	vs	Juventus
Udinese	vs	Fiorentina
Round 4: Wed 21/09/11
Cesena	vs	Lazio
Chievo	vs	Napoli
Fiorentina	vs	Parma
Genoa	vs	Catania
Juventus	vs	Bologna
Lecce	vs	Atalanta
Milan	vs	Udinese
Novara	vs	Internazionale
Palermo	vs	Cagliari
Roma	vs	Siena
Round 5: Sun 25/09/11
Atalanta	vs	Novara
Bologna	vs	Internazionale
Cagliari	vs	Udinese
Catania	vs	Juventus
Chievo	vs	Genoa
Lazio	vs	Palermo
Milan	vs	Cesena
Napoli	vs	Fiorentina
Parma	vs	Roma
Siena	vs	Lecce
Round 6: Sun 02/10/11
Cesena	vs	Chievo
Fiorentina	vs	Lazio
Internazionale	vs	Napoli
Juventus	vs	Milan
Lecce	vs	Cagliari
Novara	vs	Catania
Palermo	vs	Siena
Parma	vs	Genoa
Roma	vs	Atalanta
Udinese	vs	Bologna
Round 7: Sun 16/10/11
Atlanta	vs	Udinese
Cagliari	vs	Siena
Catania	vs	Internazionale
Cesena	vs	Fiorentina
Chievo	vs	Juventus
Genoa	vs	Lecce
Lazio	vs	Roma
Milan	vs	Palermo
Napoli	vs	Parma
Novara	vs	Bologna
Round 8: Sun 23/10/11
Bologna	vs	Lazio
Cagliari	vs	Napoli
Fiorentina	vs	Catania
Internazionale	vs	Chievo
Juventus	vs	Genoa
Lecce	vs	Milan
Parma	vs	Atalanta
Roma	vs	Palermo
Siena	vs	Cesena
Udinese	vs	Novara
Round 9: Wed 26/10/11
Atalanta	vs	Internazionale
Cesena	vs	Cagliari
Chievo	vs	Bologna
Genoa	vs	Roma
Juventus	vs	Fiorentina
Lazio	vs	Catania
Milan	vs	Parma
Napoli	vs	Udinese
Novara	vs	Siena
Palermo	vs	Lecce
Round 10: Sun 30/10/11
Bologna	vs	Atalanta
Cagliari	vs	Lazio
Catania	vs	Napoli
Fiorentina	vs	Genoa
Internazionale	vs	Juventus
Lecce	vs	Novara
Parma	vs	Cesena
Roma	vs	Milan
Siena	vs	Chievo
Udinese	vs	Palermo
Round 11: Sun 06/11/11
Atalanta	vs	Cagliari
Cesena	vs	Lecce
Chievo	vs	Fiorentina
Genoa	vs	Internazionale
Lazio	vs	Parma
Milan	vs	Catania
Napoli	vs	Juventus
Novara	vs	Roma
Palermo	vs	Bologna
Udinese	vs	Siena
Round 12: Sun 20/11/11
Bologna	vs	Cesena
Catania	vs	Chievo
Fiorentina	vs	Milan
Genoa	vs	Novara
Internazionale	vs	Cagliari
Juventus	vs	Palermo
Napoli	vs	Lazio
Parma	vs	Udinese
Roma	vs	Lecce
Siena	vs	Atalanta
Round 13: Sun 27/11/11
Atalanta	vs	Napoli
Cagliari	vs	Bologna
Cesena	vs	Genoa
Lazio	vs	Juventus
Lecce	vs	Catania
Milan	vs	Chievo
Novara	vs	Parma
Palermo	vs	Fiorentina
Siena	vs	Internazionale
Udinese	vs	Roma
Round 14: Sun 04/12/11
Bologna	vs	Siena
Catania	vs	Cagliari
Chievo	vs	Atalanta
Fiorentina	vs	Roma
Genoa	vs	Milan
Internazionale	vs	Udinese
Juventus	vs	Cesena
Lazio	vs	Novara
Napoli	vs	Lecce
Parma	vs	Palermo
Round 15: Sun 11/12/11
Atalanta	vs	Catania
Bologna	vs	Milan
Cagliari	vs	Parma
Internazionale	vs	Fiorentina
Lecce	vs	Lazio
Novara	vs	Napoli
Palermo	vs	Cesena
Roma	vs	Juventus
Siena	vs	Genoa
Udinese	vs	Chievo
Round 16: Sun 18/12/11
Catania	vs	Palermo
Cesena	vs	Internazionale
Chievo	vs	Cagliari
Fiorentina	vs	Atalanta
Genoa	vs	Bologna
Juventus	vs	Novara
Lazio	vs	Udinese
Milan	vs	Siena
Napoli	vs	Roma
Parma	vs	Lecce
Round 17: Sun 08/01/12
Atalanta	vs	Milan
Bologna	vs	Catania
Cagliari	vs	Genoa
Internazionale	vs	Parma
Lecce	vs	Juventus
Novara	vs	Fiorentina
Palermo	vs	Napoli
Roma	vs	Chievo
Siena	vs	Lazio
Udinese	vs	Cesena
Round 18: Sun 15/01/12
Catania	vs	Roma
Cesena	vs	Novara
Chievo	vs	Palermo
Fiorentina	vs	Lecce
Genoa	vs	Udinese
Juventus	vs	Cagliari
Lazio	vs	Atalanta
Milan	vs	Internazionale
Napoli	vs	Bologna
Parma	vs	Siena
Round 19: Sun 22/01/12
Atalanta	vs	Juventus
Bologna	vs	Parma
Cagliari	vs	Fiorentina
Internazionale	vs	Lazio
Lecce	vs	Chievo
Novara	vs	Milan
Palermo	vs	Genoa
Roma	vs	Cesena
Siena	vs	Napoli
Udinese	vs	Catania
Round 20: Sun 29/01/12
Cesena	vs	Atalanta
Roma	vs	Bologna
Milan	vs	Cagliari
Lecce	vs	Internazionale
Chievo	vs	Lazio
Genoa	vs	Napoli
Palermo	vs	Novara
Catania	vs	Parma
Fiorentina	vs	Siena
Juventus	vs	Udinese
Round 21 Wed 01/02/12
Siena	vs	Catania
Napoli	vs	Cesena
Novara	vs	Chievo
Bologna	vs	Fiorentina
Atalanta	vs	Genoa
Parma	vs	Juventus
Udinese	vs	Lecce
Lazio	vs	Milan
Internazionale	vs	Palermo
Cagliari	vs	Roma
Round 22: Sun 05/02/12
Palermo	vs	Atalanta
Lecce	vs	Bologna
Novara	vs	Cagliari
Cesena	vs	Catania
Roma	vs	Internazionale
Genoa	vs	Lazio
Milan	vs	Napoli
Chievo	vs	Parma
Juventus	vs	Siena
Fiorentina	vs	Udinese
Round 23 Sun 12/02/12
Lazio	vs	Cesena
Napoli	vs	Chievo
Parma	vs	Fiorentina
Catania	vs	Genoa
Bologna	vs	Juventus
Atalanta	vs	Lecce
Udinese	vs	Milan
Internazionale	vs	Novara
Cagliari	vs	Palermo
Siena	vs	Roma
Round 24 Sun 19/02/12
Novara	vs	Atalanta
Internazionale	vs	Bologna
Udinese	vs	Cagliari
Juventus	vs	Catania
Genoa	vs	Chievo
Palermo	vs	Lazio
Cesena	vs	Milan
Fiorentina	vs	Napoli
Roma	vs	Parma
Lecce	vs	Siena
Round 25: Sun 26/02/12
Chievo	vs	Cesena
Lazio	vs	Fiorentina
Napoli	vs	Internazionale
Milan	vs	Juventus
Cagliari	vs	Lecce
Catania	vs	Novara
Siena	vs	Palermo
Genoa	vs	Parma
Atalanta	vs	Roma
Bologna	vs	Udinese
Round 26: Sun 04/03/12
Udinese	vs	Atalanta
Siena	vs	Cagliari
Internazionale	vs	Catania
Fiorentina	vs	Cesena
Juventus	vs	Chievo
Lecce	vs	Genoa
Roma	vs	Lazio
Palermo	vs	Milan
Parma	vs	Napoli
Bologna	vs	Novara
Round 27: Sun 11/03/12
Lazio	vs	Bologna
Napoli	vs	Cagliari
Catania	vs	Fiorentina
Chievo	vs	Internazionale
Genoa	vs	Juventus
Milan	vs	Lecce
Atalanta	vs	Parma
Palermo	vs	Roma
Cesena	vs	Siena
Novara	vs	Udinese
Round 28: Sun 18/03/12
Internazionale	vs	Atalanta
Cagliari	vs	Cesena
Bologna	vs	Chievo
Roma	vs	Genoa
Fiorentina	vs	Juventus
Catania	vs	Lazio
Parma	vs	Milan
Udinese	vs	Napoli
Siena	vs	Novara
Lecce	vs	Palermo
Round 29: Sun 25/03/12
Atalanta	vs	Bologna
Lazio	vs	Cagliari
Napoli	vs	Catania
Genoa	vs	Fiorentina
Juventus	vs	Internazionale
Novara	vs	Lecce
Cesena	vs	Parma
Milan	vs	Roma
Chievo	vs	Siena
Palermo	vs	Udinese
Round 30: Sun 01/04/12
Cagliari	vs	Atalanta
Lecce	vs	Cesena
Fiorentina	vs	Chievo
Internazionale	vs	Genoa
Parma	vs	Lazio
Catania	vs	Milan
Juventus	vs	Napoli
Roma	vs	Novara
Bologna	vs	Palermo
Siena	vs	Udinese
Round 31: Sat 07/04/12
Cesena	vs	Bologna
Chievo	vs	Catania
Milan	vs	Fiorentina
Novara	vs	Genoa
Cagliari	vs	Internazionale
Palermo	vs	Juventus
Lazio	vs	Napoli
Udinese	vs	Parma
Lecce	vs	Roma
Atalanta	vs	Siena
Round 32: Wed 11/04/12
Napoli	vs	Atalanta
Bologna	vs	Cagliari
Genoa	vs	Cesena
Juventus	vs	Lazio
Catania	vs	Lecce
Chievo	vs	Milan
Parma	vs	Novara
Fiorentina	vs	Palermo
Internazionale	vs	Siena
Roma	vs	Udinese
Round 33: Sun 15/04/12
Siena	vs	Bologna
Cagliari	vs	Catania
Atalanta	vs	Chievo
Roma	vs	Fiorentina
Milan	vs	Genoa
Udinese	vs	Internazionale
Cesena	vs	Juventus
Novara	vs	Lazio
Lecce	vs	Napoli
Palermo	vs	Parma
Round 34: Sun 22/04/12
Catania	vs	Atalanta
Milan	vs	Bologna
Parma	vs	Cagliari
Fiorentina	vs	Internazionale
Lazio	vs	Lecce
Napoli	vs	Novara
Cesena	vs	Palermo
Juventus	vs	Roma
Genoa	vs	Siena
Chievo	vs	Udinese
Round 35: Sun 29/04/12
Palermo	vs	Catania
Internazionale	vs	Cesena
Cagliari	vs	Chievo
Atalanta	vs	Fiorentina
Bologna	vs	Genoa
Novara	vs	Juventus
Udinese	vs	Lazio
Siena	vs	Milan
Roma	vs	Napoli
Lecce	vs	Parma
Round 36: Wed 02/05/12
Milan	vs	Atalanta
Catania	vs	Bologna
Genoa	vs	Cagliari
Parma	vs	Internazionale
Juventus	vs	Lecce
Fiorentina	vs	Novara
Napoli	vs	Palermo
Chievo	vs	Roma
Lazio	vs	Siena
Cesena	vs	Udinese
Round 37: Sun 06/05/12
Roma	vs	Catania
Novara	vs	Cesena
Palermo	vs	Chievo
Lecce	vs	Fiorentina
Udinese	vs	Genoa
Cagliari	vs	Juventus
Atalanta	vs	Lazio
Internazionale	vs	Milan
Bologna	vs	Napoli
Siena	vs	Parma
Round 38: Sun 13/05/12
Juventus	vs	Atalanta
Parma	vs	Bologna
Fiorentina	vs	Cagliari
Lazio	vs	Internazionale
Chievo	vs	Lecce
Milan	vs	Novara
Genoa	vs	Palermo
Cesena	vs	Roma
Napoli	vs	Siena
Catania	vs	Udinese