European Football

[JohnDoe]

Do I think the English league is the undisputed best league? No.

In terms of quality, yes it is. Entertainment is subjective, but the Premier League is a much stronger league than the rest of them.

[Joe King]

Olympiakos win shootout 15-14 to clinch Greek double

* Olympiakos lift Greek Cup after penalty shootout
* Victory over AEK secures their 14th domestic double
* Two Olympiakos players sent off in extra time

ATHENS, May 2 (Reuters) - Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus won a gripping penalty shootout 15-14 against AEK Athens in the Greek Cup Final to clinch the domestic double on Saturday.
Former Greece goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis fired home the winning penalty after saving Agustin Pelletieri's effort during the second round of spot kicks at the Olympic Stadium. Olympiakos won a 14th double and their fourth in five years after the match ended at 3-3 in 90 minutes and 4-4 after extra time with two of their players sent off in the extra period.
Olympiakos looked to be heading for defeat when they trailed 3-2 in normal time but English forward Matt Derbyshire equalised six minutes into added time to ensure an extra half-hour.
AEK had taken a 2-0 lead with Ismael Blanco's double after eight minutes but Olympiakos recovered as on-loan Blackburn Rovers striker Derbyshire pulled a goal back just after halftime and Dudu Cearense grabbed an equaliser in the 70th minute.
Nacho Skokko then put AEK back in front at 3-2 after 89 minutes before Derbyshire grabbed his last-gasp leveller.
Luciano Galletti gave Olympiakos the lead for the first time 12 minutes into the extra period but was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for overexuberant celebrations.
Moments later Olympiakos were down to nine men when Avraam Papadopoulos was dismissed for a challenge on Pantelis Kafes.
AEK were back on level terms at 4-4 when Skokko scored his second goal but they could not take advantage of their numerical superiority and a remarkable match finished all square.
The shootout was extraordinary for its duration with the penalty takers on their second round when Pelletieri failed to beat Nikopolidis, who stepped up to fire home the winner.

[Craig_H]

ITALY
Latest results:

Catania 0-2 Milan
Fiorentina 1-0 Torino
Juventus 2-2 Lecce
Palermo 5-1 Cagliari
Roma 0-0 Chievo
Siena 2-1 Napoli
Udinese 3-0 Atalanta
Bologna 1-2 Reggina
Inter 2-0 Lazio

Current Table:
34 games played (out of 38)

1ST: 77 - INTER
2ND: 67 - MILAN
3RD: 65 - JUVENTUS
4TH: 58 - FIORENTINA
---------------------
5TH: 57 - GENOA
6TH: 52 - ROMA

________________________________________

SPAIN
Latest results:

Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 Real Valladolid
Espanyol 3-0 Valencia
Real Mallorca 2-1 Getafe
Osasuna 1-2 Recreativo Huelva
Racing Santander 0-2 Almeria
Real Betis 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Sporting Gijon 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Numancia 2-0 Malaga
Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona

Current Table:
34 games played (out of 38)

1ST: 85 - BARCELONA
2ND: 78 - REAL MADRID
3RD: 60 - SEVILLA
4TH: 56 - VALENCIA
----------------------------------
5TH: 55 - ATLETICO MADRID
6TH: 55 - VILLARREAL
7TH: 53 - DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA
8TH: 51 - MALAGA

________________________________________



GERMANY
Latest results:

FC Koln 1-0 Werder Bremen
SV Hamburg 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Armenia Bielefeld 2-2 VfB Stuttgart
Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Moenchengladbach
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
Karlsruhe 0-0 Energie Cottbus
Schalke 04 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Wolfsburg 4-0 Hoffenheim
VfL Bochum 0-2 Hannover 96

Current Table:
30 games played (out of 34)

1ST: 60 - WOLFSBURG
2ND: 57 - BAYERN MUNICH
3RD: 56 - HERTHA BERLIN
------------------------------
4TH: 55 - VFB STUTTGART
5TH: 55 - SV HAMBURG
6TH: 52 - BORUSSIA DORTMUND
7TH: 49 - SCHALKE 04
8TH: 45 - BAYER LEVERKUSEN
9TH: 45 - HOFFENHEIM

________________________________________

FRANCE
Latest results:

Bordeaux 3-0 Sochaux
Nantes 1-2 Le Harve
Paris St Germain 0-1 Rennes
Caen 3-1 Le Mans
Grenoble 0-0 Nice
Lorient 3-1 Lille
Marseille 2-2 Toulouse
Monaco 0-1 Auxerre
St Etienne 0-0 Nancy
Valenciennes 2-0 Lyon

Current Table:
34 games played (out of 38)

1ST: 68 - MARSEILLE
2ND: 68 - BORDEAUX
3RD: 61 - LYON
---------------------------
4TH: 60 - PSG
5TH: 58 - TOULOUSE
6TH: 56 - LILLE
7TH: 54 - RENNES

________________________________________

HOLLAND
Latest results:

FC Twente 3-0 AZ Alkmaar
FC Utrecht 2-2 Feyenoord
FC Volendam 0-1 FC Groningen
Heerenveen 2-2 Ado Den Haag
NAC 0-1 De Graafschap
PSV Eindhoven 1-1 NEC
Roda JC 0-1 Willem II
Sparta 4-0 Ajax
Vitesse Arnhem 1-0 Heracles

Current table:
33 games played (out of 34)

1ST: 77 - AZ ALKMAAR (Champions)
2ND: 69 - FC TWENTE
3RD: 65 - AJAX
--------------------------
4TH: 62 - PSV EINDHOVEN
5TH: 60 - HEERENVEEN
6TH: 53 - FC GRONINGEN

[MrsB]

Olympiakos win shootout 15-14 to clinch Greek double

* Olympiakos lift Greek Cup after penalty shootout
* Victory over AEK secures their 14th domestic double
* Two Olympiakos players sent off in extra time

ATHENS, May 2 (Reuters) - Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus won a gripping penalty shootout 15-14 against AEK Athens in the Greek Cup Final to clinch the domestic double on Saturday.
Former Greece goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis fired home the winning penalty after saving Agustin Pelletieri's effort during the second round of spot kicks at the Olympic Stadium. Olympiakos won a 14th double and their fourth in five years after the match ended at 3-3 in 90 minutes and 4-4 after extra time with two of their players sent off in the extra period.
Olympiakos looked to be heading for defeat when they trailed 3-2 in normal time but English forward Matt Derbyshire equalised six minutes into added time to ensure an extra half-hour.
AEK had taken a 2-0 lead with Ismael Blanco's double after eight minutes but Olympiakos recovered as on-loan Blackburn Rovers striker Derbyshire pulled a goal back just after halftime and Dudu Cearense grabbed an equaliser in the 70th minute.
Nacho Skokko then put AEK back in front at 3-2 after 89 minutes before Derbyshire grabbed his last-gasp leveller.
Luciano Galletti gave Olympiakos the lead for the first time 12 minutes into the extra period but was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for overexuberant celebrations.
Moments later Olympiakos were down to nine men when Avraam Papadopoulos was dismissed for a challenge on Pantelis Kafes.
AEK were back on level terms at 4-4 when Skokko scored his second goal but they could not take advantage of their numerical superiority and a remarkable match finished all square.
The shootout was extraordinary for its duration with the penalty takers on their second round when Pelletieri failed to beat Nikopolidis, who stepped up to fire home the winner.

[Craig_H]

Glad to see Matt Derbyshire doing well, always felt he had good potential.

[Neil Young]

So the order of taking penalties is different in Greece. After the first one they alternate taking two consecutive penalties like serves in a tennis tie-break. Not a bad idea.

That doesn't look like sudden death to me so do they also take them in batches of five or what?

[Joe King]

Marco van Basten quits as Ajax coach less than a year after taking charge

Guardian

Former Holland striker Marco van Basten has resigned as Ajax coach, the Amsterdam club has announced. Van Basten had come under increasing criticism from fans after Ajax missed out on a Champions League place. His decision comes a day after Ajax general director Rik van den Boog, who described the failure as "an ugly knock on the head", sought to reassure Van Basten that his job was safe.

"Sacking Marco van Basten is not a point of discussion at the moment. Marco has an ongoing contract. And by putting another coach in front of the squad it's absolutely not guaranteed that everything will become better all of a sudden."

However, Van Basten, 44, has now walked away, less than a year after he took over.

The club's statement said: "Marco van Basten has told managing director Rik van den Boog he has decided to resign his position as head coach of Ajax. He cites the main reason for his decision as being that the objectives have not been reached and that he did not feel able to improve things next season."

Ajax lost 4-0 at Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday to slip four points behind second-placed FC Twente, who beat newly crowned champions AZ Alkmaar 3-0, with one match remaining.

Van Basten's assistant John van't Schip will take charge for the final game of the season, at home to Steve McClaren's Twente, on Sunday.

[Joe King]

Coach Magath to leave Wolfsburg

BERLIN, May 6 (Reuters) - Vfl Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath will step down at the end of June, the club said on Wednesday.
It has been widely reported in the German media that Magath will move to troubled Bundesliga side Schalke 04.
Bundesliga leaders Wolfsburg announced Magath's departure in a statement on its website.
"We clearly exceeded the goals that we set for ourselves when I came to the club in the summer of 2007," Magath said in the Wolfsburg statement.
Magath has enjoyed unexpected success with Wolfsburg this season, leading the outsiders to the top of the table, three points ahead of second placed champions Bayern Munich with four matches left.
Pre-season favourites Schalke fired coach Fred Rutten and manager Andreas Mueller in March after a disappointing run in all domestic and international competitions.
Schalke are currently in seventh place and are all but out of contention for a European berth.

Guardian

[Neil Young]

Coach Magath to leave Wolfsburg

BERLIN, May 6 (Reuters) - Vfl Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath will step down at the end of June, the club said on Wednesday.
It has been widely reported in the German media that Magath will move to troubled Bundesliga side Schalke 04.
Bundesliga leaders Wolfsburg announced Magath's departure in a statement on its website.
"We clearly exceeded the goals that we set for ourselves when I came to the club in the summer of 2007," Magath said in the Wolfsburg statement.
Magath has enjoyed unexpected success with Wolfsburg this season, leading the outsiders to the top of the table, three points ahead of second placed champions Bayern Munich with four matches left.

I hope they get Wolfgang Wolf back in as manager.

[Joe King]

Tonights games:

UEFA Cup Semis
Shakhtar Donetsk v Dynamo Kiev (1-1 agg)

Hamburg v Werder Bremen (1-0 agg) *watch this game especially*

[Joe King]

Anyone watching Hamburg - Bremen?

Superb stuff so far. 1-1. Two good neat finishes from Olic and Diego. Bremen need another to lead on away goals.

[Craig_H]

Very entertaining game. Bremen had another goal ruled out for offside.

Should be an interesting remaining 35 mins.

[Joe King]

What a goal from Pizarro. Advantage Bremen.

[Craig_H]

1-2 Bremen

25 mins to go.

2-2 on agg - Bremen will win on away goals.

[Joe King]

The shame about the final is that Diego is suspended.