Archive for November 6th, 2008

Quagliarella Inspires, Dinho Follows (UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday 2)

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

Surfing the wave of success from matchday 1, Serie A clubs continued their good run of form on matchday 2 of UEFA Cup Group Stage. With Sampdoria taking a break this round, both AC Milan and Udinese came out victorious of their encounters vs. Sporting Braga (1-0) and Spartak Moscow (2-1).

While Udinese achieved their result thanks to a 60th minute penalty of Fabio Quagliarella, the Rossoneri had to patiently (frustratingly?) wait until stoppage time of the second half, before a Ronaldinho-powered blast gave Milan the late victory.

(more…)

Real Madrid 0-2 Juventus: Del Piero Taking the Bernabéu Crown (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

There is only one king in Spain tonight, and his name is Alessandro Del Piero. Royal ADP. Real Pinturicchio. Two blows from the cannon, two thrusts of the mighty sword, two strokes of that epic paintbrush of his, painting the colours of a magical Spanish night in which Juventus beat Real Madrid on their home turf. That, ladies & gentlemen, had not happened for over 46 years.

And a deserved victory it was too. The Bianconeri suffered in ball possession, but they were more organized, more disciplined, more cynical. Lead by the inspirational magic of their nº10 captain, and under the direction of the tall white-haired man in the dugout. The Santiago Bernabeu stadium must be bringing Claudio Ranieri some luck, because including the seasons he was in command of Valencia and Atletico Madrid, this is the third time the Juve coach was victorious on royal territory.

(more…)

And We’re Back…

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

So, after nearly a week of absence I’m back.

Let me tell ya: the phrase “when it rains it pours” wasn’t made for nothing. On top of the personal matters I had to take care of last week, fate decided to gang up on me. Not even 2 days after I posted my “time-out” message, my PC hard drive gave up on me (kaputt, refused to work) effectively leaving me without computer and internet access for nearly 6 days. In modern times, even one day without going online means incalculable pain and serious contemplation of suicide, especially for PC-junkies like me.

Fortunately, a friend of mine managed to fix the hardware problem and now I’m back. Posting will resume at reduced capacity this week, and should pick up again normally sometime this week-end.

And yes, the more observant of you will have noticed the Death Star has a rather peculiar shape in the SW poster. George Lucas has repeatedly stated he wasn’t going to make episodes 7 through 9, but I got some inside info and let me tell you: he’s up to something. There are rumours in fact that in the new episode, Darth Vader (back from the dead) will have evil plans to destroy the 3006 World Cup and soccer as we know it. Sepp Blatter is a main favorite for the role.