Spain
Sergio Kun AGUERO finally delivered the dagger into Barcelona’s heart after Atlético Madrid brilliant comeback win. Throughout this season, it has always been a one sided affair between these two sides.
It was Lionel MESSI who got the better of his national team colleague, when he was dancing through the home defense and coolly sliding the ball home in the 12th minute.
Kun made it 2-2 after he took advantage from a Barca mismatch in the 55th minute. With the score line at 3-3 and heading into the last minutes, Kun took advantage of another Barca mistake. Carles PUYOL failed to clear the danger and Kun pounced to drill home a low shot, sparking wild scenes at both the Vicente Calderon and no doubt at the Bernabeu as well.
Inter Milan came from behind to clinch a hard-earned point in a dramatic draw with Roma tonight. Substitute Hernan CRESPO scored a 79th-minute equalizer to save the Nerazzurri from what would have been a costly defeat after Juventus won yesterday.
Catania hammered Palermo 4-0 win away with Pablo Martin LEDESMA scoring their first goal of the match.
In the Swiss Super League, Emiliano DUDAR was on target in AC Bellinzona 2-0 win over Neuchatel Xamax
England
Carlos TEVEZ has done it again! The little fellow’s habit of collecting a winners medal continues as Manchester United have defeated Tottenham Hotspurs in the Carling Cup Final 4-1 on penalty shoot out after the match ended in goalless draw.
Carlitos has been an important figure for United throughout this competition. He finishes as the joint top scorer with six goals (including a four goal haul over Blackburn Rover in the quarter final).
Today against Spurs, he was named in the starting line up and played for the full 120 minutes. His first real chance came in the 42nd minute, when John O’SHEA cuts the ball inside to him but his shot from inside the Spurs area was blocked.
His next chance came in the 60th minute, as he tries to back heel Evans' shot past GOMES, but it went wide. He also had another chance in extra time but his header was wide out.
Just like what happened in Moscow, it was down to the penalty shoot out. TEVEZ was United’s second penalty taker and he coolly slotted his into bottom corner. When Jamie O’HARA and David Bentley missed their shots, it looks to be a big mountain to climb for Spurs. ANDERSON did no wrong with his shot as United won the match.
Now back to the million dollar question, will TEVEZ be a United player come next season? Well we will leave that aside for now and celebrate this moment in what could be another glorious chapter in Carlitos career.
Italy
Mauro ZARATE scored a brace for Lazio in their 2-0 win over Bologna. The results was crucial for the Bianconeslesti as they kept their hopes of European football for next season alive.
ZARATE has seen his goal scoring form dried out November and needed something special to break his dull spell. Lazio were awarded a free kick after Goran PANDEV was foul in the 35th minute. ZARATE curled the ball in past a static Francesco ANTONIOLI to put his side in the lead.
After missing plenty of other opportunity to double up Lazio’s lead his was finally rewarded with another goal. ZARATEe got his second nine minutes from time, finishing off a perfect pass from Tommaso ROCCHI, who had come off the bench for PANDEV minutes earlier with a delightfully clever touch.
In Spain, former Albiceleste captain Roberto AYALA scored for Real Zaragoza in their 4-1 win over Murcia in the Segunda Division.
In Greece, Ismael BLANCO was on target for AEK Athens in their 2-1 win over FC Xanthi. Mauro POY scored for the visitor. Javier CAMPORA scored from the spot for Aris Salonika in their 2-1 win over Thrasivoulos.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Legend Gabriel Omar Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born February 1, 1969), nicknamed Batigol, is a former professional footballer. The prolific Argentine striker played most of his club football at Fiorentina in Italy, and he is the eighth top scorer of all time in the Italian Serie A league, with 184 goals in 318 matches between 1991 and 2003. On the international level, he is the all-time highest scorer for Argentina's national team, with 56 goals in 78 national team matches, and he represented his country at three FIFA World Cups. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the "125 Greatest Living Footballers".
When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league a year later. A hero in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for Fiorentina. He never won the Italian league with Fiorentina, but when he moved to AS Roma in 2000, he finally won the Serie A championship to crown his career in Italy. He played his last professional season in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup he worked as a commentator for Televisa Deportes.
Personal life
Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969, to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Batistuta, in the town of Avellaneda, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, but grew up in the near city of Reconquista. He has three younger sisters, named Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela.
At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his future wife, at her quinceañera, a rite of passage on her 15th birthday. She is reported to have ignored him but five years later, on 28 December 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentine national team, Batistuta gained fame and respect. He filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man.
In 1996, during Fiorentina's 2-1 victory at Milan, he celebrated scoring the match's decisive goal by saying Te amo, Irina ('I love you, Irina', to his wife) for the cameras. The mix of sex appeal and faithfulness cemented Batistuta's heart-throb reputation among Argentine and Italian women. In 1997, Batistuta's second son, Lucas, was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. He now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his family moved to Rome, where he played for Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter. In 2002, after more than 10 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi.
Batistuta ended his career at Al-Arabi, retiring in March 2005, after a series of injuries that prevented him from playing. Soon afterwards he moved to Perth, Australia. In April 2006, the city's established A-league franchise, Perth Glory was put up for sale however Batistuta was not interested in the purchase seeing no real potential in the club.[1] His nickname is Batigol as he scores a lot of goals and his name starts with "Bati."
Honours
* First Division (Serie A) Italian Championship (with Roma) 2000-2001.
* Italian Supercup (with ACF Fiorentina) 1996, (with Roma) 2001
* Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year 1998.
* Italian Cup (with Fiorentina) 1995-1996.
* Second Division (Serie B) Italian Championship (with Fiorentina) 1993-1994.
* First Division Top Scorer, 26 goals (with Fiorentina) 1994-1995
* Copa América (with Argentina) 1991, 1993
* Copa América Top Scorer, 6 goals (with Argentina) 1991
* Top Scorer of The Qatari League with a record breaking 24 goals.
* Top Scorer in all Arab leagues, awarded with a Golden Boot.
* Gabriel Batistuta also set a new Serie A record by scoring in 11 consecutive Serie A games
* Confederations Cup (with Argentina) 1992
* FIFA 100
* FIFA World Player of the Year 3rd Place 1999
Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1988-89 Newell's Old Boys Primera División 16 4
1989-90 River Plate Primera División 7 4
1989-90 Boca Juniors Primera División 10 2
1990-91 19 11
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1991-92 Fiorentina Serie A 27 13
1992-93 32 16
1993-94 Serie B 26 16
1994-95 Serie A 32 26
1995-96 31 19
1996-97 32 13
1997-98 31 21
1998-99 28 21
1999-00 30 23
2000-01 Roma Serie A 28 20
2001-02 23 6
2002-03 12 4
2002-03 Internazionale Serie A 12 2
Qatar League Emir of Qatar Cup League Cup Asia Total
2003-04 Al-Arabi 18 25
2004-05 3 0
Total Argentina 52 21
Italy 344 200
Qatar 21 25
Career Total 417 246
When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league a year later. A hero in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for Fiorentina. He never won the Italian league with Fiorentina, but when he moved to AS Roma in 2000, he finally won the Serie A championship to crown his career in Italy. He played his last professional season in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup he worked as a commentator for Televisa Deportes.
Personal life
Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969, to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Batistuta, in the town of Avellaneda, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, but grew up in the near city of Reconquista. He has three younger sisters, named Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela.
At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his future wife, at her quinceañera, a rite of passage on her 15th birthday. She is reported to have ignored him but five years later, on 28 December 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentine national team, Batistuta gained fame and respect. He filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man.
In 1996, during Fiorentina's 2-1 victory at Milan, he celebrated scoring the match's decisive goal by saying Te amo, Irina ('I love you, Irina', to his wife) for the cameras. The mix of sex appeal and faithfulness cemented Batistuta's heart-throb reputation among Argentine and Italian women. In 1997, Batistuta's second son, Lucas, was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. He now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his family moved to Rome, where he played for Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter. In 2002, after more than 10 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi.
Batistuta ended his career at Al-Arabi, retiring in March 2005, after a series of injuries that prevented him from playing. Soon afterwards he moved to Perth, Australia. In April 2006, the city's established A-league franchise, Perth Glory was put up for sale however Batistuta was not interested in the purchase seeing no real potential in the club.[1] His nickname is Batigol as he scores a lot of goals and his name starts with "Bati."
Honours
* First Division (Serie A) Italian Championship (with Roma) 2000-2001.
* Italian Supercup (with ACF Fiorentina) 1996, (with Roma) 2001
* Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year 1998.
* Italian Cup (with Fiorentina) 1995-1996.
* Second Division (Serie B) Italian Championship (with Fiorentina) 1993-1994.
* First Division Top Scorer, 26 goals (with Fiorentina) 1994-1995
* Copa América (with Argentina) 1991, 1993
* Copa América Top Scorer, 6 goals (with Argentina) 1991
* Top Scorer of The Qatari League with a record breaking 24 goals.
* Top Scorer in all Arab leagues, awarded with a Golden Boot.
* Gabriel Batistuta also set a new Serie A record by scoring in 11 consecutive Serie A games
* Confederations Cup (with Argentina) 1992
* FIFA 100
* FIFA World Player of the Year 3rd Place 1999
Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1988-89 Newell's Old Boys Primera División 16 4
1989-90 River Plate Primera División 7 4
1989-90 Boca Juniors Primera División 10 2
1990-91 19 11
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1991-92 Fiorentina Serie A 27 13
1992-93 32 16
1993-94 Serie B 26 16
1994-95 Serie A 32 26
1995-96 31 19
1996-97 32 13
1997-98 31 21
1998-99 28 21
1999-00 30 23
2000-01 Roma Serie A 28 20
2001-02 23 6
2002-03 12 4
2002-03 Internazionale Serie A 12 2
Qatar League Emir of Qatar Cup League Cup Asia Total
2003-04 Al-Arabi 18 25
2004-05 3 0
Total Argentina 52 21
Italy 344 200
Qatar 21 25
Career Total 417 246
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