In Focus: Shinji Kagawa

     Shinji Kagawa started playing football in his primary school years. He joined Kobe NK Football Club from 1999 to 2001, and FC Miyagi Barcelona in Sendai from 2001 to 2005. Cerezo Osaka noticed his talent and signed him at the age of 17. He was the first player in Japan to sign a professional contract before graduating high school, except players promoted from youth teams of the J. League clubs.In 2007, he gained a regular position but the club missed the promotion to the J. League Division 1.

By mid-2010, Kagawa was represented with a sports agency run by retired German professional footballer Thomas Kroth, which ultimately handled his transfer to Borussia Dortmund.

Kagawa was back in time for the start of the 2011–12 Bundesliga campaign and quickly found his way back into the starting line-up. Kagawa scored his first goal of the new Bundesliga season on 18 September, coming in a disappointing 2–1 loss to Hannover 96, as his side gave up two goals in the last three minutes. On 22 October, Kagawa opened the scoring in the seventh minute as Dortmund crushed 1. FC Köln 5–0 in front of 80,200 home fans at the Signal Iduna Park. Kagawa scored again on 5 November, as Dortmund brushed aside Wolfsburg 5–1 and moved within two points of league leaders Bayern Munich. He scored a late consolation against Arsenal in a 2–1 loss in the group stage of the Champions League.

Reports emerged in Germany on Thursday that United had made a move for Kagawa and sources have confirmed to Goal.com that the club have made a formal bid for the Japan international.

United are believed to be hopeful of wrapping up a quick deal but it is understood that Arsenal's interest remains strong and the Londoners could also submit an offer for a key figure in Dortmund's back-to-back league titles.

Kagawa has only a year remaining on his contract and the Bundesliga club have hinted recently that they will not stand in the way of a transfer this summer.

Speaking last week, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said: "I had a meeting with his agent and Shinji Kagawa has informed us that he will definitely not be extending his contract. Should we now receive offers for Kagawa, then we will consider and negotiate them."

Goal.com exclusively revealed in April that United were lining up a bid to sign Kagawa, whose reputation has grown over the last few months.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his assistant Mike Phelan were then present at the DFB-Pokal final two weekends ago when Kagawa scored in Dortmund's emphatic 5-2 win over Bayern Munich.

Arsene Wenger is also an admirer of the Japanese midfielder, who arrived in Germany after the 2010 World Cup for a fee well below €350,000 and has been an influential presence in Jurgen Klopp's team.

He has scored 10 times in 30 international appearances, and his 71 appearances for Dortmund have yielded 29 goals, including the opener in the cup final, before setting up hat-trick hero Robert Lewandowski's first of the game.

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In focus : Mesut Ozil

A German-born son of a Turkish immigrant, Mesut Ozil brings finesse and improvisation to the midfield of both club and country. His magical left-foot can open any door, though he can be inconsistent at times.

Ozil was born in the old Ruhr mining town of Gelsenkirchen and spent his formative years at leading local outfit Schalke. On making the first team there, he was described as 'the next big thing', but he eventually fell out with club management and moved on to Bremen in January 2008.

Starring in the Bundesliga and with the Germany Under-21 side saw him make the step up and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa ensured that he was placed among Europe's top young talents, with Real Madrid wasting little time in signing him ahead of the 2010-11 season.

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Messi :The Record breaker

  "Records are made to be broken".This is exactly with Messi . From winning the ballon d'Or three years in a row to breaking the  Cesar Rodriguez 232 goals for Barcelona.Or Five goals in a Champions League Match (First Ever).He is breaking records one   after another, And hopefully more to come from this amazing striker.

The Argentine continues to rewrite the club's history books as his strike on Saturday means he has now beaten the Brazil legend's record of 34 goals during the 1996-97 campaign.And also Messi matches Barcelona record for most appearances by a foreign player in La Liga.

"May be - Raul's 71 Champions League strikes, Cristiano Ronaldo's six La Liga hat-tricks (leveled), Pele's 1281 goals - the records Messi has yet to break."

While the jury is still debating on whether he really deserves to be hailed as the greatest of all time, as some of his colleagues at Barca have labelled him, there is no doubting that Messi is, by quite a country-mile, the best of his generation. And he has made breaking records his part-time hobby in recent weeks.

He became only the third player to win the Ballon d'Or three times; he is now the record goalscorer in Champions League knockout games with 24 goals; he became the first player to score five goals in a single game in the Champions League era; he is the youngest player to reach 150 La Liga goals, and of course, Tuesday's landmark that looks set to cement his legendary status at Barca, becoming the club's all-time top marksman. All these in the first three months of 2012.

Below we list some of the all-time records Messi is yet to conquer.

BARCELONA & LA LIGA

ALL-TIME RECORD		MESSI'S TOTAL
Barca all-time appearance record: Xavi - 616		314
Barca all-time top scorer in La Liga: Cesar Rodriguez - 192		153
Barca all-time top scorer (including friendlies): Paulino Alcantara - 369		245
Most goals scored in one season for Barca (including unofficial matches): Clemente Gracia - 59		56
Most goals scored in a single game for Barca: Joan Gamper - 9		5
Most Liga titles won for Barca: Xavi, Pep Guardiola, Josep Samitier - 6		5
La Liga all-time appearance record: Andoni Zubizarreta - 622		204
Most La Liga titles won: Francisco Gento - 12		5
All-time La Liga top scorer: Telmo Zarra - 252		153
Most goals in a single Liga season: Cristiano Ronaldo - 40		34
Most goals scored in a single Liga game: Laszlo Kubala, Bata  - 7		4
Most hat-tricks in a single Liga season: Cristiano Ronaldo - 7		7

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Ashley Young: New "Falling down" Actor??

     May be the official are just giving away penalty when he falls down. He has done twice in a span of seven days.Ashley Young is being called an actor because of his recent falling down to get a penalty.May be it's not his fault only.The official just try to give away cards,free kicks... when a main player falls down on appeal. So when ever such things happens the big team get the edge.These are favoritism rather than false judgement. Rooney have scored 6 goals from penalty. If its compared to Rolando's( Real Madrid) 11 in the league, its quite a believing figure. 

Many striker tricked to get penalties,Just fall down on a slight touch. There are always appeals for handball inside the D. etc .Some times they succeed in doing so and sometimes even if if its a clear penalty,they are being denied. So sometimes the referee are carried away due to arguments and others.So sometimes players are being hated of. Hero to villains.(Remember Ronaldo convinced the referee to give a red against Rooney during world cup)   

  But If they are acting then it kills the spirit of the game.That's some team can win over other teams easily but can't even draw with some teams. Because both the teams knew what is it all about.

A week after Young was embroiled in a spot-kick row against QPR, he was at the centre of more controversy in Sunday's 4-0 win over former club Aston Villa. Referee Mark Halsey decided the contact - as Young attempted to step inside Ciaran Clark - was worthy of a penalty just six minutes into the Old Trafford encounter.

Villa boss Alex McLeish disagreed, while Ferguson felt it was a penalty but conceded Young had gone looking for it and, when asked directly whether the winger might be seen as someone who goes down too easily, Ferguson responded on MUTV: "I think in that situation, in the last week or two, yeah."

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Ashley Young might have emerged from the past seven days with a reputation as someone who goes down too easily, but the Manchester United boss claims not to have seen any evidence he is a diver.

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Manchester United Again The World's Most Valuable Soccer Team

By The Reporter:(Courtesy - Forbes.com)
During the 2011 season the UEFA Champions League, the world’s richest annual soccer competition, doled out a total of $1.14 billion to the 32 teams that qualified for the group stage, 23% more than the previous year (generally the further a team advances in the tournament, the greater their share of the distribution). A 25% increase in UEFA’s broadcasting revenue, to $1.28 billion, fueled the increase.

The average enterprise value (equity plus debt) of the top 20 teams rose 20%, to $770 million. Revenue (excluding player transfers) went up 23%, to an average of $319 million per team during the 2010-11 season. Operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) increased 13%, to an average of $45 million. In local currencies, the results were much more modest (our results are calculated using June 30 exchange rates), as the U.S. dollar fell sharply against both the euro and British pound from June 2010 through June 2011. In euros, the average team value stands at 531 million, just 1.5% higher than a year ago. And in British pounds, the average team value is 503 million, a 4.8% year-over-year gain.

The five teams that are worth at least $1 billion–Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern Munich–advanced to at least the round of 16 in last year’s Champions League. Not only do these teams reap direct revenue from finishing near the top of their domestic leagues and tournament competition, but they also generate rich sponsorship and merchandise deals from the powerful brands they have built through success on the pitch over time.

The most valuable team is Manchester United, which won the English Premiership in 2011 and is owned by billionaire Malcolm Glazer and his family. The Red Devils, which have been the top soccer team every year since Forbes began calculating valuations for the sport in 2004, are worth $2.24 billion, 20% more than last year. Manchester United’s global fan base of some 330 million also helps makes it the most valuable team in any sport, worth $385 million more than both Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.

During the 2010-11 season Manchester United reaped $192 million in broadcasting revenue, 22% higher than the previous season. The club’s run last year to the final of the Champions League, where it lost to Barcelona, commanded a $80 million payout from UEFA. It will be more challenging for the Red Devils to boost revenue this year, as the team was stunned early in the Champions League by Basel.

The second-most valuable team, Real Madrid, is closing in fast on Manchester United. Los Blancos received a $59 million payout for reaching the semi-finals of the 2011 Champions League and is now worth $1.88 billion, 29% more than last year. Real Madrid posted the highest operating income of our top 20, $214 million, $36 million more than second-best Manchester United. Real Madrid’s 2011 commercial revenue of $250 million, powered by sponsorships with Adidas, Emerites Airlines and Bwin, was second only to Bayern Munich. Although Real’s sponsorship deal with Austrian online betting group Bwin may be in jeopardy, the team’s revenue is not. Not only would it not be difficult for Real Madrid to replace Bwin, but the team’s run deep into the 2012 Champions League tournament also will be quite lucrative.

Also gaining a lot of ground on Manchester United is Barcelona, the winner of last year’s Champions League which has made it to the final four of the tournament this year. Barcelona, led by the world’s greatest striker, Lionel Messi, is worth $1.31 billion, a 34% increase from last year. Barcelona pulled in $77 million in Champions League distributions and the team”s broadcasting revenue of $266 million in 2011 was the most of any team. Barcelona’s revenue and value should increase again next year as it enjoys its first full year of its sponsorship deal with the Quatar Foundation, which is worth an average of $44 million a year through the 2015-16 season.

Although Germany’s Bayern Munich finished third in the Bundesliga and was ousted in the first knockout round of the 2011 Champions League (both highly disappointing for the traditional power), the team was still first in commercial revenue, with $258 million. Bayern pulls in $36 million a year from its long-term sponsorship deal with Adidas and has been having talks with Gazprom, the Russian energy company. We value Bayern Much at $1.24 billion, 18% more than last year. Having made it to the semi-finals of this year’s Champions League, the team is poised to increase in value further.

The top teams on the pitch are going to continue to get richer. This year’s Champions League payout will be higher than 2011 for the 32 tournament teams. Also, UEFA has also hatched a plan to sell the television rights for international games for Europe’s top teams collectively beginning in 2014 rather maintain the current practice whereby broadcasters must contact individual national football federations independently. UEFA believes selling rights on pan-European basis  can increase  revenue over 60%.

We began our valuations with the Football Money League report, published by the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, which compiles vital figures for the 20 soccer teams with the most revenue. We then use our own research, which includes reviewing financial documents and speaking to sports bankers, to derive operating income, debt and values for each team.

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Penalty shootout :The decider of a tie??

     Bayern Munich celebrated wildly after their talismanic German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger slotted home the crucial spot-kick.After eight months of competition, the final place in the Champions League showpiece on May 19 rested on a single penalty. Once again the German aptitude for the spot-kick resulted in the Munich side's progression, this time at the expense of Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.

 people can score from 32 yards, 30 yards, 33 yards, 20 yards that also with lots of players trying to block including the keeper.but how come Players like Messi, Ronaldo misses from 12 yards and just a player to beat.

   But the question is Every time we have a tie, Penalty is the only way to decide or can we look for another way. It willl be hard to find. Penalty solely depends on the keeper, I must say. Becuase every right  dives he make will decide the game.

 Talking about penalty, England is the most unluckiest team in the world when it comes to penalty. They have been defeated many times in a penalty shootout.

  Penalty depends mostly on the instincts and confidence of the keeper. There will be no kick a keeper can save when he have read the shooter's direction. So it depends mostly on the Instinct at that very moment. Its mostly about luck.

   A penalty is the ultimate lottery and the ultimate test of technique at the same time. It's success, more than any other facet of football, lies in the mind. It's a mental test, a battle of wits between keeper and taker, who must trust their technique to complete the straightforward act of a free shot on goal.

  But, after two hours of action other factors come into play. Players may have performed well and be confident, they may have played poorly and be hesitant but they are all almost certainly going to be nervous and tired. 

   When a player gets two or more penalty in a game, he may scored the first one but its the most difficult to score the second one. Ronaldo scored the first penalty when he let the ball to the left side of Neuer. But at the shootout, Neuer have predicted that this time it will be on the right side. Because  Ronaldo is not a person who will do mistakes. On the other hand Ronaldo was thinking he need to chance the side this time.

   So I think, there is always a habit or trademark for every penalty takers. So the best to make it work is to perfect the style, and may he should have more than one style.

  

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"Ronaldo Crying" One of the most search key word for Ronaldo

Ronaldo scored twice in the second leg against Bayern Munich,But did miss in the crucial penalty shot out. So people start searching his photo of crying.Some keyword are as follows:




ronaldo crying
cristiano ronaldo crying
cristiano ronaldo cry
crying ronaldo
ronaldo
ronaldo cry
cristiano ronaldo cries
cristiano cry
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cry ronaldo


Here are the few popular pictures of Ronaldo crying.

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Van Persie a doubt for Orange

Arsenal and Holland striker Robin van Persie is a doubt for Wednesday's friendly against England with a groin injury, Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk has confirmed.

Van Persie sat out the last 10 minutes of Holland's hour-long open training session at Wembley after aggravating the problem, which he originally suffered in the Gunners' 5-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday.

The Arsenal frontman, who has been in scintillating form this year, appeared in discomfort towards the end of the training session and missed an eight-a-side practice match at England's national stadium in north London on Tuesday night.

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