FreeGoalZ: 9/20 Goal.com News - English

Goal.com News - English - America

Goal.com MLS Player of the Week, Week 27: Mauro Rosales injured, but earns top honors

September 19, 2011 at 3:44 PM

Mauro Rosales wants to let you in on a secret. Soccer is not all about scoring goals. Granted, the all-important rulebook in soccer does in fact state a team does not win unless they score more goals than the opposing team. However, the setup for a goal can arguably be more impressive than the goal itself.

Rosales certainly made a case for that assertion on Saturday at CenturyLink Field as Seattle hosted D.C. United. A week after D.C. United's own 3-0 victory (and subsequently, a PotW honor for Charlie Davis with a hat-trick), Seattle took care of United to continue its recent surge as it attempts to close the gap between itself and first place Los Angeles.

Rosales had a helping hand, well, foot in all three of Seattle's goals, netting two assists and setting up the third goal on a cross to Fredy Montero that he nearly knocked in. Alvaro Fernandez knocked the rebound in for his second goal of the night.

In another striking similarity to last week's situation, a celebrated effort was marred by injury. D.C. United's Chris Pontius was lost for the season due to a broken leg after picking up three assists at Chivas USA. In similar fashion to that incident, Rosales was brought down by Daniel Woolard after the points were sealed.

Early reports are that Rosales has a sprained MCL, but it is unsure just how severe the injury is, and how long Rosales could be on the sidelines. Reports out of Seattle on Monday indicated Rosales did not fully train with the team, but was able to walk around the practice field without the aid of crutches.

With the two assists, Rosales bumped his season total to 12 on the season. That not only moves him up to third place in the MLS on the season (David Beckham leads with 14), but also placed him in the Seattle record books, breaking the franchise record for assists in a season.

In the last three MLS games for Seattle, Rosales has one goal and five assists, proving as the catalyst for the strong run that Seattle had over the last few months. In its last 10 matches, Seattle is 6-2-2, with a goal differential of nine (21 goals, 12 goals allowed).

In order to continue this run, Seattle has to hope the diagnosis for Rosales is not as bad as first feared and he is able to continue to his current form. That is certainly no secret.

Manchester United could be without Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez for another stretch this season

September 19, 2011 at 1:45 PM

It's one thing that Ashley Cole did not receive a red card or that Manchester United was not awarded a penalty for the Chelsea fullback's two-footed tackle against Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez inside the box in Sunday's match.

But what should really concern Sir Alex Ferguson is the fact that he may once again lose one of his most dangerous offensive players for a couple of weeks.

Cole made the challenge that forced Chicharito to leave United's 3-1 victory as the Mexican striker pounced on the rebound of a Wayne Rooney effort which struck the post, catching him just below the knee. Referee Phil Dowd decided against awarding a penalty as he deemed the ball had left the field of play at the point of contact.

This all happened in the 79th minute of a game that was already in Manchester United's control, but the controversial play could affect the Red Devils going forward.

Manchester United may be without Chicharito for the next few games, which would be the second stretch this season that the club's starting lineup will be missing the superstar. The 23-year-old was absent early on this campaign after suffering a concussion during training while the team was touring the United States in July.

After Sunday's game, Sir Alex said Chicharito's right leg was "very numb" and "there's very little feeling". That was about all the news the team has released on the injury since.

Manchester United better hope that Chicharito's injury ends up not being that serious. While Danny Welbeck filled in nicely as a starter during the first three games along with the Community Shield, the 21-year-old backup is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered during United's 8-2 victory over Arsenal earlier this month.

Sir Alex recently said Welbeck is making good progress and that the injury isn't as bad as the team initially thought, but it is unknown if he will be back for this weekend's match against Stoke, which means the legendary manager could have some big roster decisions to make.

Ferguson could decide to play Rooney alone up front, but it's highly likely Dimitar Berbatov, the team's leading scorer last season, will start for the first time in 2011-12.

Follow MIKE SLANE on

Sunderland's Seb Larsson hails 'massive win' over Stoke City

September 19, 2011 at 1:33 PM

Sunderland midfielder Seb Larsson is hoping that the weekend demolition of Stoke City can set his new side up for a good season after lifting the pressure that had amounted following a run of five games without a win.

"It was a massive win," Sweden international Larsson told BBC Newcastle.

The Stadium of Light had seen the Wearsiders beaten twice already this season, with bitter rivals Newcastle and Chelsea already having left with all three points before the arrival of Tony Pulis' side, who were sent packing through goals from Larsson, Titus Bramble, Craig Gardner and a Jonathan Woodgate own goal.

"It was nice to get the first three points and hopefully that can really get us flying in forthcoming games."Larsson said, "We were all desperate for the first win, we wanted to put that right, give the fans something to be proud of."

He added,"We knew the performance was in us, that we can score goals and it was nice to show it. You don't stop hearing about it, we had slipped down the league and you never want to be down there."

Fiorentina's Alberto Gilardino ruled out for six weeks with knee injury

September 19, 2011 at 1:08 PM

Fiorentina has announced that Alberto Gilardino will face up to six weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury in his side's 2-0 defeat to Udinese on Sunday.

The Italian striker picked up the problem 25 minutes into the second half when he clashed with Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and was taken to hospital immediately after the game.

Fiorentina doctor Paolo Manetti told ViolaChannel that Gilardino has suffered a micro fracture of the tibia, with a minimum recovery time of five to six weeks.

Gilardino is expected to return to action on November 6 against Chievo, missing a total of seven games, including matches against Napoli, Lazio and Juventus.

Alejandro Sabella: There won't be any surprises in Argentina squad

September 19, 2011 at 1:00 PM

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella has warned that there are unlikely to be any surprises when he names his first World Cup qualifying squad later in the week, as the South Americans prepare for games against Chile and Venezuela.

"There will not be any surprises," he told FoxSports, before revealing that he would be calling up a larger list than usual from foreign leagues due to the lengthy wait until the fixtures.

The trainer is expected to release the list of callups on either Thursday or Friday, for the fixtures scheduled for the start of October. Lionel Messi and company will host Chile in the Monumental on October 7, before travelling to Caracas to take on Cesar Farias' Copa America semifinalists on October 11.

And speaking on Monday morning, Sabella affirmed that his squad would most likely not contain any shock inclusions or exclusions.

"I have to give the list on Thursday or Friday for our foreign-based players, to comply with the rule that says we must hand it in 15 days before the match," said Sabella. "Just because someone is on the list, doesn't mean that they will necessarily play. We will give more names because there could be injuries that come up."

Sabella also talked about Carlos Tevez, who was left out of his first squad to face Venezuela and Nigeria at the start of September.

"You would have to ask Tevez [how he feels] because he said that a player loses prestige coming to the national team. It is a valid opinion. At the moment he is not playing or he is just starting to," he explained. "Tevez will be watched and followed just like any player of ours."

Bulgaria dismisses coach Lothar Matthaus

September 19, 2011 at 10:58 AM

The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has announced it has sacked coach Lothar Matthaus with immediate effect.

The German coach had only been in charge of Bulgaria since September 2010, taking over after the resignation of Stanimir Stoilov.

But the former Bayern Munich star's job had been under threat after he failed to guide the team to the Euro 2012 finals.

Bulgaria sits fourth in Group G, with five points from seven games, and with only one match left to play, it is out of contention for a place in the competition in Poland and Ukraine.

"Matthaus' contract will not be renewed," BFU president Borislav Mihaylov is quoted by Reuters as saying.

"Bulgaria achieved poor results under him and there is tension between him and the players."

Under-21 coach Mihail Madanski will take charge of the Bulgaria senior side for the last Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on October 11.

Robin van Persie frustrated by Arsenal's season so far

September 19, 2011 at 10:56 AM

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie has admitted his frustration at the Gunners' poor start to the Premier League season.

"It just frustrates me, and it is happening too often. Every time we start positively we just keep making the same mistakes and that is surprising," Van Persie told the club's offical website.

Arsene Wenger's side have made a miserable start to the campaign, having taken just four points from their opening five games and were beaten 4-3 at Ewood Park on Saturday, despite having twice taken the lead.

After a summer in which season ticket prices at the Emirates Stadium rose, pressure is on the club's board, Wenger and his players, whom Van Persie is calling upon to finally show what they're capable of.

"There is lots of time [left this season], but at some point you need to pick yourself up and prove what you are capable of," Van Persie said. "We are not doing that at the moment and are not consistent enough.

The Gunners' poor start has also seen the 8-2 decimation at Old Trafford by Manchester United, the 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool and a 0-0 draw against Newcastle.

Only Swansea have been beaten by the Gunners in the league this season and even then the Swans had more than enough chances to take something from the game.

Nevertheless, Van Persie is looking for his team to finally pull together, and is looking to do so as soon as possible.

"It's very important [to get back on track]" the Dutchman said. "Even before the game on Saturday I said to the boys, 'today is a big, big day'. We have to get back-to-back wins, and we just cannot do that at the moment. That is our aim for the next couple of games, we have to win them after each other.

He added, "We just need a couple of good weeks in the Premier League where we get a lot of points, and hopefully we can start next week against Bolton."

Liverpool youngster Jack Robinson looking to learn from Jose Enrique

September 19, 2011 at 9:57 AM

Liverpool's promising young left-back Jack Robinson believes that Jose Enrique can help him become a future first team star at Anfield.

"Jose is someone I have watched over the last few years and someone who will be a good player for us," Robinson told LFC magazine.

Spanish fullback Enrique arrived on Merseyside from Newcastle this summer and 18-year-old Robinson has not only been impressed with the current Reds No. 3, but is also convinced that he'll develop if he can learn from the former Villarreal defender.

"He's got everything for a left-back, both defensively and going forward. I was made up when we signed him because I realize that he is eight or nine years older than me," he said.

He added, "I can learn a lot from him because he is good at the things I need to improve on; getting a bit tighter to the players I'm marking; stopping crosses going into the box and going forward; dribbling with the ball; being dynamic."

Robinson made his Premier League debut with a late cameo against Hull City at the end of the 2009-10 season, but his big opportunity to impress came at the Emirates Stadium towards the back-end of last season when he was plunged into action against Theo Walcott following an injury to Fabio Aurelio.

And the youngster has revealed that sharing a joke with Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish helped him to impress.

"The boss just said to me 'you look like you are going to be sick" Robinson recalled. "I told him I thought I was going to be sick right there and then. He just started laughing and told me everything would be fine and to play my normal game."

Robinson remembers that his motivation carried him during the match.

"I was so built up on adrenaline, it kept me going through the match. I didn't have time to think about what I was doing," he said.