Chelsea (Emphatically) Wins Premier League

Didier Drogba celebrating Chelsea’s 8-0 victory against Wigan. Drogba scored three goals, giving him 29 this season, to edge Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney for the Premier League scoring title.

Chelsea is the best team in England, and anyone who disputes that need only look at the scoresheet from its final victory — an 8-0 thrashing of visiting Wigan on Sunday. Chelsea’s Premier League crown was its third in six years.
Didier Drogba led the way Sunday with three goals, giving him a Premier League-best 29 this season, though it would be just as easy to list the players who didn’t find the net.
Nicolas Anelka gave Chelsea the lead in the sixth minute, and Frank Lampard doubled it with a penalty kick in the 32nd. Wigan defender Gary Caldwell drew a red card for the challenge that brought down Lampard, leaving his teammates defenseless for what was to come: Salomon Kalou, Anelka again, Drogba (three times) and a 90th-minute left-footed rocket by Ashley Cole. (Drogba had a full-bodied hat trick, scoring left-footed, right-footed and on a header.)

Manchester United beat Stoke, 4-0, to finish 1 point behind, but all a disappointed Sir Alex Ferguson could do was try his best to be gracious.

“When we heard Wigan was down to 10 men, our hopes evaporated then,” Ferguson said. “We know how difficult it is to win the Premier League and that’s why we congratulate Carlo Ancelotti and his team.
“It’s a great achievement to beat Manchester United. Losing this title makes you appreciate the achievement of winning the last three and also getting so near. We’ve got to try again.”

Ancelotti’s team finished with 103 goals, becoming the first Premier League team to top the century mark and the first to do it in England’s top division since Tottenham in 1963.

The Blues finished with an astonishing goal difference of 71, and went a perfect 6-0 against the rest of England’s big four — Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. And they did it all despite not one but two sex scandals, Drogba’s pining for his Marseille days, and an injury list that, had it competed on its own, probably could have finished in the top half of the Premier League.

Not a bad year (not an unbeaten one, but still …). And it will only get better if they beat Portsmouth in F.A. Cup final on Saturday at Wembley.

Romanian scores against PSG

Romanian AJ Auxerre striker Daniel Niculae scored against Paris Saint Germain in a 1-1 home game.

Niculae scored in the opening 11 minutes with PSG’s Sankhare equalising five minutes later.

Niculae's team is currently third in the French championship, after Lyon and Montpellier.

Daniel Niculae has a contract to play for Auxerre until this summer.

Steaua player out for a month

Steaua player Ianos Szekely is out of action for at least a month after sustaining an injury during training, the club announced yesterday (Fri).

Szekely, 26, suffered a knee injury and he will be operated on next week, the club said, but added he is unlikely to be back in the game for at least one month.

Szekely played in 15 matches for Steaua this season and scored five times.

Vaslui overpower FC Timisoara

FC Vaslui won 1-0 today versus FC Timisoara, in Timisoara.

FC Timisoara had many chances to score in this match, especially near the end, and it was a very aggressive game.

Goals:
FC Timisoara - none.
FC Vaslui - C. Costly (12')

Bookings:
FC Timisoara - none.
FC Vaslui - M. Pavlovic (red card; 37').

Also, you can watch the Brasov - CFR Cluj match coming up in a little over an hour (after the end of this match) using the SopCast channels.

Romanian international praised by the German press

Romanian international Ciprian Marica was praised today (Tues) by the German press for having scored five goals this year in the Bundesliga for his team Vfb Stuttgart.

Marica scored two goals at the end of last week in a match with Hanovra.

The German newspaper Bild wrote about the "miraculous" Marica: "It looks like Marica, it talks like Marica, has always been said. But now, there is a new Ciprian Marica, the one we've been seeing in the last three months."

Under new coach Christian Gross, Marica is playing well. Before this season, he had scored only five goals in 56 matches in the Bundesliga.

Marica transferred to VfB Stuttgart in 2007 for 8.3 million Euro from Shakhtar Donetsk and was often criticised by the German press, which considered the transfer a bad one. Until now.

Craiova smashes top class Brasov

I know this was from this past weekend, but I was busy celebrating!:

FC Universitatea Craiova played at home (even though they weren't actually playing in their own stadium) against one of the top Liga I clubs, FC Brasov, defeating them by a wide score of 3-0. The match was rather exciting, and the Oltenii created many chances and I honestly think that they should have won by at least a score of 10-0 or 15-0.

The stiinta completely dominated the match and Brasov had only a very few chances near the goal against Craiova and didn't cause much of a problem for U Craiova. Iliev, the Bulgarian new signing for Craiova, was doing a great job in midfield despite being a little too aggressive at times.

The Oltenii were also missing out on their national team and number one defender in the Liga I, Ovidiu Dananae, yet were able to get 3 points out of this one. This was a very important win as it elevated their rank from a dangerous position to a less threatening one.

Goals: Valerica Găman ('16), Radu Barbu ('25), Mihai Costea ('36).

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I am hoping and now more confident that we can do much better in the rest of the season if we continue this type of football, we could even reach the UEFA Qualification spot!

Kapetanos strikes late to give Steaua draw

An injury-time goal from Greek striker Pantelis Kapetanos gave Steaua Bucharest a dramatic 2-2 draw with Unirea Urziceni on Saturday in Urziceni.


Sorin Frunza gave the home side the lead in the third minute, but Ovidiu Petre put Steaua back on level terms five minutes later. 

With 18 minutes to go, Marius Onofras made it 2-1 to Unirea, but in the 92nd minute, Kapetanos struck to give Bucharest a share of the spoils.

Lawyer says Mutu could receive a less-severe sanction

"A famous Italian lawyer has said Romanian international Adrian Mutu can get a less-severe sanction if he proves his sporting efficiency wasn’t boosted by the use of sibutramine.


According to tuttomercatoweb.com, lawyer Pier Filippo Capello, a well-known lawyer on sports matters in Italy and the son of England's coach Fabio Capello, said the Fiorentina player could receive a less-severe sanction.

Capello also said that any sports player who had used dope before risked a serious penalty for another violation.

Mutu may also be considered a recidivist, as he tested positive for cocaine in 2004 while playing for Chelsea.

Mutu recently appeared before Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping prosecutors in Rome in the sibutramine doping case.

The Italian National Anti-doping Court indefinitely suspended Mutu in February after he had failed anti-doping tests.

Mutu tested positive for sibutramine in tests carried out on 10 January after a match with Bari and on 20 January after a match with Lazio.

Mutu scored two goals in the match against Lazio Roma that Fiorentina won by a score of 3-2. His team thereby qualified for the Italy Cup semi-finals.

Sibutramine is an anorectic or appetite suppressant that reduces a person’s desire to eat."

Cocis to play football for FC Timisoara

Romanian Rozvan Cocis will play for football club FC Timisoara, the club announced yesterday (Mon) evening.

Cocis, 27, failed to transfer to Portsmouth, ranked last in the English Premier League at the beginning of the year, because of an injury to his right arm.

Cocis was without a contract after expiration of the one he had with Lokomotiv Moscow.

Cocis, who played for Sheriff Tiraspol from 2004 to 2007, has 32 caps with the national team.

Carling Cup final: Manchester United comeback gives them the win over Aston Villa at Wembley

Click here to view full article and details

Today, Manchester United played Aston Villa in the final of the Carling Cup at the Wembley Stadium.

Final Score: 2-1 to Manchester United.

Goals:
Manchester United FC - Michael Owen (13') and Wayne Rooney (74').
Aston Villa FC - James Milner (5'; Penalty).

Attendance: 88,596.


Line-ups:
Manchester United FC - Tomasz Kuszczak, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Rafael, Jonathan Evans, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park, Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov.
Subs: Ben Foster, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson, Wayne Rooney, Mame Diouf.

Aston Villa - Brad Friedel, James Collins, Richard Dunne, Stephen Warnock, Carlos Jimenez Cuellar, Stiliyan Petrov, Stewart Downing, James Milner, Ashley Young, Emile Heskey, Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Bookings:
Manchester United FC - Patrice Evra (41'; yellow) and Nemanja Vidic (68'; yellow).
Aston Villa - James Collins (11'; yellow) and Stewart Downing (18'; yellow).

Click here to view more on football from around the world

Falling Oltenii lose 2-1 to Gaz Metan Medias

U. Craiova lost today at home (even though they were playing in a different town, really)*, final score 2-1 to Gaz Metan.

Goals:
Universitatea Craiova - Eugen Trica (90').
Gaz Metan Medias - A. Litu (9') and  F. Lazãr (68').

*U. Craiova are having many problems at the moment, including problems with Craiova's mayor. As a result, we cannot even use our own stadium, Ion Oblemenco, we have to play in a town called Severin.

 Match Highlights:

Arlauskis - defeated by Liverpool, wanted by Everton

• Already monitorred by FC Sevilla, Unirea’s very promising keeper Giedrius Arlauskis (22) has become a target for Everton, as well. Last night, the Lithuanian was watched once again from the stands by an Everton scout and, although he could have done better (“especially on the second and third goal”, as he agreed after the game), he remains probably one of the most interesting players from Romania.
• Steaua held the initial talks with Cristian Fabbiani (26). The Argentinian centre-forward asked for a huge salary, given his recent struggles, 250.000 EUR/season, but his agent Luciano Duthu says that an agreement could be found, as the player is motivated to return to Romania and prove that he’s not finished. Released on a free transfer by CFR, he should lower a lot his demands just to get a shot at a permanent deal, as Steaua won’t be willing to offer him more than 10-15.000 per month, until the summer.
• Marko Ljubinkovic (28) and FC Vaslui are ready to part ways, but in a fashion that should make club owner Adrian Porumboiu regret the decision to keep the player and reject important offers, between 1,5 and 2 million Euros. Ljubinkovic has been informed by coach Marius Lacatus that he’s not part of his plans and sent to train with the reserve team, but now has been reported missing from training. The Serbian midfielder has had a trumendeous 2007/2008 season, scoring 16 goals in 30 matches :-O and, after another decent year (28 games/6 goals), lost motivation turning from a key player into just a rotation/backup solution.

Source: Scouting Romania

Unirea Urziceni ousted by Liverpool

[For more Europa League and Champions League news, please visit http://soccerwrapup.blogspot.com]

Romania’s Unirea Urziceni on Thursday missed qualification for the Europa League’s last 16 by losing 3-1 (2-1) at home to FC Liverpool.

Liverpool will meet Lille in March.

Unirea opened scoring in the 19th minute when Bruno Fernandez headed in a goal from a corner by Razvan Paduretu, but Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano struck back with a shot from about 20 meters in the 30th minute.

Dutch Ryan Babel gave the English side the lead in the 41st minute before Captain Steven Gerrard sealed victory with a low strike from 10 meters in the 57th minute.

Nearly 22,000 fans attended the match.

Top ranked CFR Cluj overcome tough Unirea

  

Home: Unirea Urziceni Away: CFR Cluj 1907 CFR Cluj defeated the popular club, Unirea Urziceni, that participated in the UCL and Europa League, Monday (today), 1-0 , in the last match of stage 18.


The goal was scored by Traore in the 43rd minute. Muresan sent a diagonal pass to Deac, the midfielder shot from the box, but the shot was stopped by Arlauskis, which then hit the crossbar and sent the ball to Traore, only two metres from the goal line.  

Unirea Urziceni vs. CFR Cluj 1907 Score: 0-1; goal for CFR Cluj by Lacina Traore (43')  

Lineups:
Unirea Urziceni: Arlauskis - Maftei, Galamaz, B. Fernandes, Brandan - S. Paraschiv (Ricardo '76) - Onofraş (Rusescu '59), Marinescu (Semedo 70), I. Apostol, S. Leaf - Bilaşco. Coach: Ronny Levy.  

CFR Cluj: Nuno Claro - Panin, Cadu, Alcantara, Edimar - Deac (Peralta '82), E. Dica (Dani '82), G. Muresan, Culio - Traore (Veloso '64), Y. Kone. Coach: Andrea Mandorlini.

Yellow cards: Brandan '28, S. Paraschiv '66 - G. Muresan '33, '62 Nuno Claro, E. Dica '77, '79 Deac, Culio '85

Referees: Marius Avram (Head) - Adrian Vidan, Octavian Şovre (assistant referees) - Ionel Ivan (reserve).

Linesmen: Mircea Calin, Mircea Neşu. Supervisor: John Igna.

The match was attended by about 4,500 spectators, including 50 supporters of the away squad (CFR Cluj); entry is free.

Dinamo win derby against Craiova

Dinamo Bucuresti faced Universitatea Craiova at home, winning the derby match 2-1 over the Stiinta.

Even so, I quote "Dinamo won again because of the referee and remains the most disgusting in the Liga I."

Match Highlights (second half only):


Goals were scored by Boştină ('8) and Marius Niculae ('17) for the home team (Dinamo) and Mihai Dina ('19)

1-0: Marius Niculae gave a header to Boştină and the dinamovist midfielder shot from about five metres from left side from the long corner.

In minute 13, Florin Costea escaped to be left alone with no one but Dolha in the defense, and Moti tackled Florin Costea from behind, who in turn fell over, but the referee did not award a penalty kick. U. Craiova club officials protested vehemently, and the club's sporting director, Silvian Cristescu, entered the referee's account calling center field but was it was ignored.

2-0: Andrei Cristea helped to extend the score with a header, and the ball reached Marius Niculae, who placed it in the net from about three to four meters.

2-1: Mihai Dina reduced the difference on the scoreboard after he shot after receiving the ball from a corner on the right side taken by Paunovic.

In the 34th minute, Torje tried to surprise Silviu Lung Jr. with a centred shot, but the ball hit the cross-bar.

Full Time: Dinamo Bucharest - Universitatea Craiova 2 to 1 (2-1) Scorers: 1-0 Gabriel Bostina (8), 2-0 Marius Niculae (17), 2-1 Michael Dina (19)

Dinamo: Dolha - Molinero, D. Gregory, Moti, Pulhac - N'Doye - Torje (Alex '88), Boştină (D. Kone '77), Ad. Cristea - M. Nicolas, and. Cristea (Cl. Niculescu 90 3). Coach: Cornel Ţălnar.

Universitatea Craiova: Long Jr. - Bărboianu, V. Gaman, Iliev, Balak - Quail, Paunovic (Trica '51), Dina (Al. Piţurcă '82), Firţulescu (Gângioveanu '61) - M. Costea, Costea Fl. Coach: Mark Wotte.

Yellow cards: A. Cristea '14, '26 M. Niculae, Molinero '67, '75 Moţi - Fl Costea '14, Tricia '59, '61 Quail.

Referees: Augustus Constantin (Central) - Ionel Popa, Sebastian Stoianof (assistant) - Lucian Ruşandu (reserve).

Linesmen: Alexandru Boc, Vasile Curt.

Supervisor: Valentin Alexander.

The match's attendance: about 9,000 spectators.
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I think that we (Craiova) deserved to win the match, even if we played poorly, especially in the second half. We had many chances to score and also deserved to get a penalty, which was ridiculously denied by the horrible ref. We still have much to fix this season... Also, Silviu Lung Jr. did a great job as keeper for us, he made some amazing saves despite having conceded 2 goals.
 

Boloni resigns as Standard Liege coach

 

Romanian Laszlo Boloni has resigned as coach of Belgian team Standard Liege, the club officially announced yesterday (Weds).

His team won the Belgian national championship last year, but has had very disappointing results this year, as it is currently sixth in the top league.

The team is also out of Champions League play and faces Europa League matches.

Boloni, 56, had been coaching Liege since 2008.

Boloni has coached Sporting Lisbon and Al-Jazeera in the United Arab Emirates.
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Boloni was one of our top 5 or 6 all-time best players (Romanian national team) scoring 25 goals for Romania in 108 appearances. He also won the UEFA Champions League and European Super Cup with Steaua Bucuresti in 1985-1986. He did very well with Standard last year in the Belgian league and deserves an applaud as a manager as well. 

Congratulations to Lazlo Boloni for a great football career!

Dubarbier signs with Lorient

A couple days ago it was confirmed that the Liga I star is indeed being transferred to France's Ligue 1:

"Argentine Sebastian Dubarbier has transferred from CFR Cluj to French Ligue I team Lorient, Cluj officially announced yesterday (Mon).

His transfer cost 1.5 million Euros, and he has signed for four and a half seasons.

Dubarbier, 23, said it was a step forward in his career after two years with CFR Cluj, with whom he won the Romanian championship in 2008.

FC Lorient is currently ninth in Ligue I."

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I see this as a great opportunity for him, he has been scoring loads for the "Chelsea of Romania" (CFR Cluj) and is a great striker. In fact, he could be playing for an even more reputable team with the quality he's got.

Premier League team acquires Romanian football player

I know it's been a little while, but here it is (announced Jan 15th 2010):

"Romanian national team player Razvan Cocis will transfer to Portsmouth, last ranked in the English Premier League, it was revealed today (Fri).

Cocis, 27, will transfer from Lokomotiv Moscow to the Premier League team for three years.

Cocis played for Sheriff Tiraspol from 2004 to 2007 and has 32 caps with the national team."

 My view on Cocis is that he is very underrated and can be a great player at times, he hasn't been called up too much to the Romanian national team, but when he has, he's scored a good amount of goals (1 goal vs. Faroe Islands, which was his only call-up at the World Cup Qualifications).

Striker Adrian Mutu fails another drugs test... [Why, Mutu, why!?]

"Adrian Mutu faces a lengthy ban after it was revealed yesterday that the Fiorentina striker has failed a drugs test for the second time in his career.

The Italian Olympic Committee said that Sibutramine, an anti-obesity drug, was discovered in his system after the game against Bari on January 10. It could lead to a suspension of up to four years for the 31-year-old.

Victor Becali, one of the player’s agents, said that his client is “a little worried but we are optimistic”. Mutu has seven days to decide whether to ask for analysis of his “B” sample.

The Romanian is still suffering from the consequences of taking drugs more than five years ago. He was sacked by Chelsea in October 2004 after a test revealed cocaine use and banned for seven months by Fifa, but the incident has cast a much longer shadow over his career.

Last summer the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in Switzerland, upheld a Fifa ruling that he must pay Chelsea about £15 million in compensation for breach of contract. Mutu has said that he cannot afford to pay and has continued the appeal process. He and Chelsea are waiting for a ruling from the Swiss Federal Court.

The forward was one of the first high-profile signings of the Roman Abramovich era costing Chelsea £15.8 million when they bought him from Parma in 2003, but the player soon struggled for form and developed a reputation for indiscipline off the field. When José Mourinho replaced Claudio Ranieri as manager at Stamford Bridge, Mutu’s career went into a downward spiral.

After his ban he joined Juventus as a free agent and Chelsea received nothing when the Italian club sold him to Fiorentina, where he has thrived on the pitch and seemed to lead a more stable existence off it.

Sibutramine, which is on Wada’s prohibited stimulants list, works by tricking the brain into thinking the stomach is full, but this month European medical regulators recommended that it be banned because of concerns about harmful side-effects."
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I am extremely pissed off by this... to sum it up (I could talk about this forever, so here goes a small summarizer):

Too much money and all this never brings anything good. If any of you have ever read Candide, you'd  understand my thinking.

Whenever you give someone too much of something they want, it does not make them happier. they will lose in the end and this is somewhat comparable to some players like Mutu, who was stupid enough to do this to himself, he had everything that people dream of, but got himself kicked off one of the world's best clubs, Chelsea, and now probably will lose his entire career.

And what will he be remembered by? Not his beautiful football. How stupid he was, taking drugs and all that.

But I will never forget what he did for us...

Additional details and discussion on the subject and other topics here

Romanian cleared for Baggies debut

A bit of old news, but good to know:


"New signing Gabriel Tamas is in line to make his West Brom debut in the televised Championship clash against Nottingham Forest on Friday night (Jan 8th 2010).

The Romania international centre-back arrived at The Hawthorns last week but was unable to feature in the 2-0 FA Cup triumph over Huddersfield as he awaited a work permit and international clearance.
But that has now arrived and, with Abdoulaye Meite on African Nations Cup duty, Tamas could well replace Shelton Martis and take his place alongside Jonas Olsson at the heart of the defence.
The virus that swept through the Albion squad last week has now gone and there are no fresh injury worries to report, meaning Roberto Di Matteo has an almost full compliment of healthy players for the important fixture.
Ishmael Miller played 45 minutes for the reserves in midweek on his comeback from a lengthy knee injury but the game comes too soon for him, while midfielder James Morrison (heel) remains around 10 days or so away from a return to first-team training.
Defender Neil Clement was forced to retire on Wednesday following his troublesome battle to recover from a knee problem. Winger Reuben Reid has joined Peterborough on loan while new signing Marcus Haber is not expected to feature so soon."