United Are Untouchable

I had the pleasure of watching Man United's game against Arsenal on Saturday and I was left with a loss of appetite, albeit after eating like a mad man at my in laws. Arguably this wasn't that bad on that particular day I was spared from watching Milan's 4-0 thrashing by arch rivals Inter...Rock on Galliani and Berlusconi!

The Arsenal game had everything you could wish in football, goals and drama. Showsports presenter Rob McCaffery said it beautifully "And you wonder why people pay to watch the English Premier League". For the neutral it must have been a blast but being a Gooner myself I was left feeling robbed and angry. Yes my perspective possibly is bias but surely the refereeing display on that day by Mike Dean was a farce. United had luck and the referee on their side that day. Where to begin.....?

Before scoring the opener Andrei Arshavin was hacked down inside the penalty area via a blatant double tackle by Darren Fletcher, the ball also might have struck Fletcher's hand while Arshavin was applying the dummy, there was no doubt in my mind...a penalty and a yellow card but to my shock the referee waved play on??? I couldn't believe my eyes. What made things much worse for me was that early in the second half with Arsenal knocking on United's door for a second to put this game to rest Mike Dean decided to award Rooney a penalty. Well in my eyes this was not a penalty and all what Rooney hoped to achieve with his run at Almunia was any contact so he could tumble to the floor. Yes there was contact, but seeing the replay from the back (also the view of the referee) Wayne proceeded to throw his legs up before Almunia touched him. Add this to the fact that prior to contact Rooney had already nicked the ball too strongly and it was heading outside of the stadium and this to me was no penalty. However for arguments sake lets assume Mike Dean didn't see what I saw and we all know how poor referees have only a second to make a decision and blah...blah...blah..... How can he possibly give Rooney's penalty and not Arshavin's? Fletcher in the latter managed to lift Andrei off the ground and bring him tumbling down. All I am asking for is consistency. You can't give one and not the other, period!

Penalties aside, Wenger complained that a certain United player was present to only make fouls on Arsenal, while I think Arsen is exaggerating a bit, Darren Fletcher throughout the game had earned himself a minimum of one Red Card and possibly two. Mr. Dean (pictured above pointing out that 3 fouls was too much) I counted around 5 0r 6 fouls that game two of witch would have warranted a yellow card each for sure. The penalty that was never given, and the high boot with studs showing into Clichey's shoulder, Dean never acted. This case reminded me a couple of seasons back when Paul Scholes used to wear the invulnerability cloak too and in some Old Trafford games he just couldn't be booked if he tried.

Wenger was then red carded at the end of the game for kicking a bottle of water, this had no impact on the game but turned out into a comedy sketch that best displayed the calibre of refereeing in the game. What added to the comedy affair was the fact that the fans that once cheered the king of synchronised diving Mr. Ronaldo for so many years proceeded to jeer Eduardo for a dive (in a Celtic game, earlier in the week) that was no more than what Rooney produced a few minutes earlier.

The game overall was very competitive, hats off to United for grabbing three points, in a game where they were outplayed throughout most of 90 minutes. Arsenal and Arsen have alot of positives to look at as they dominated the reigning champions at their fortress, and lost via a debatable penalty and a fluke Diaby own goal, what was he thinking?. A Van Persie goal was correctly disallowed late on, that on another day could have been the equaliser. The team as a whole and Diaby in particular showed great metal to come back after the own goal and try to level the game by playing their football, but how they missed Fabregas that night. It might seem difficult to imagine this Arsenal team winning the title (I still consider Chelsea favorites) but if Wenger can bring in one or 2 players before the window ends tomorrow it might just happen.

You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

Well I was shocked today to find out that the infamous Henri Michel has returned to coach Zamalek. Him again why?

Zamalek fired Swiss coach Michel Decastel after a string of bad results at the start of the Egyptian Premier League with 1 win in 3 league games. For starters I think it's weird firing a coach after just three games , but then again this is Egypt and this is Zamalek, the kings of instant gratification. Decastel had managed to finish the previous season on a high with some good performances, but the addition of several new players to the team this season means he should be given sufficient time for the new players to gel, not happening. Decastel was also blessed with the acquisition of two of Egyptian football's arch enemies and worst role models. Zaki and Mido. The duo are unprofessional and hate each others guts following incidents in CAN 2006 in Egypt and their bust up playing for Egypt against Zambia while in Wigan together last season. Their presence alone would disrupt any changing room atmosphere. One would think that Decastel would be given time given these circumstances, but the team the media in Egypt nominated to be an instant hit couldn't wait and Decastel was gone. In all fairness however this approach is not a trait portrayed only by Zamalek, it's like a pandemic in all Egyptian clubs. After only three weeks of the championship Ismaily, Masry, Ittihad along with Zamalek have all sacked their coaches, OH and Enppi too.

Why then would Zamalek opt for Michel? Well there is no doubt with regards to his ability. He is a charismatic coach with a well found knowledge of the beautiful game. He also is the only Zamalek coach to come close to beating a full strength Ahly side lead by the general, Manuel Jose, losing the Egyptian cup final 4-3 after extra time in arguably one of the most exciting Egyptian football encounters this decade. Michel comes with a catch though. Zamalek are rehiring him. This man was never sacked by Zamalek the first time mind you. This is a man who planned a pre-season camp with the club, instructed the administration on which players to buy, even released some of the clubs dedicated old guard and then out of the blue decided to quit the club mid camp and head over to coaching Morocco (who rumor has it was willing to pay more) leaving Zamalek scrambling for a last second replacement! These actions speak louder than any words possibly can about the "man" Zamalek chose for the job and regardless of his success, don't be surprised if he pulls something similar again. Zamalek deserve better....or maybe they don't:)

Happy Ramadan!

Well due to that I'll be fasting for the next month and having a bit of a jam at work my posts might become a bit limited.

Have no fear though, everything will be back to normal soon enough:)

Happy Ramadan!

Milan Win Berlusconi Trophy, Really?

Well a couple of days back I managed to watch AC Milan take on Juventus for the annual friendly played to win the Berlusconi Cup. It is the last friendly before the Serie A kicks-off next week, so naturally it is quite important for both teams to have a some sort of idea of where they stand. Juve had a mixed preseason but miles better than that of Milan. Milan had not won a single preseason friendly up to that point although they managed to grab a draw or two, so logically Milan would be putting more importance on that game, more to the fact they were playing at home. I never thought though it was that important!

Both teams started out with more or less their best eleven on the field. The game played out to a 1-1 draw with Diego who was extremely impressive through out grabbing the lead with a deflected shot off Milan defender Thiago Silva who had a decent game himself. Alex Pato equalised late on with a header from an inch perfect Abate cross. Milan overall played fairly well, looked threatening and their overall display was miles better than any of their preseason games thanks to occasional moments of brilliance from Ronaldinho, Pato and Pirlo. Yes I know I argued before that Pirlo can be sold, but in no way is his presence in any team in the world not an advantage for that team. New signing Huntelaar struggled a bit, but gave me hope that if given a few games he can deliver. Overall I still think Inter are almost a sure in for winning the Serie A again this season, that's were I would put my money. Their overall squad and tactical displays are better than any other Serie A team.

Anyways, as the game ended in a draw it had to be settled on penalties, fair enough. What really surprised me was the presence of Milan vice-president Galliani on the bench celebrating after each penalty kick as if Milan were playing a "World Cup" final, not even a "Champions League" final could enlist such exaggerated emotions from the Milan number two. Frankly it was too much for me. Maybe he was genuinely happy, who knows? but it seemed to me that Galliani wanted this win just to prove to us and mainly to himself that everything is fine in Milanello. There were a lot of positives to take out of the game for Milan and I'm sure Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief following his teams display as it gave him hope for the future. Not among the positives was beating Juve, because frankly it never happened. Milan drew 1-1 at home with Juve and struggled to equalize, (a poor result in any two legged competition or even in a league meet), and later won a penalty contest to win a friendly competition, nothing more nothing less. I hope that the next time I see Mr. Galliani jumping up and down would be in a Champions League final, on second thought a Coppa Italia final will do!

Movie of the Week

The Hangover

I finally got a chance to see the movie on the weekend and boy was it worth it. Prior to seeing The Hangover my favorite comedy of the year was "I love You Man" starring Jason Segel and Paul Rudd, not anymore.

The plot is very believable, the acting is sound and it's just extremely funny from start to finish. Ed Helmes (The Office) and Zach Galifianakis are hilarious while Bradley Cooper is smart and funny. If you are a Cairo resident like myself, I suggest not seeing it at the cinema and wait till it's on DVD or something as I've heard they censored the hell out of it. None the less my brother saw it over here and although he could tell it was cut up he still managed to enjoy it immensely. I recommend this movie as one of the must see flicks of the year. It's funny as hell!

Rating: 4/5 Star

Check out the official movie trailer here The Hangover Trailer

The Community Shield

Chelsea 2 Man Utd 2 (Chelsea win 4-1 on penalties)

United took the lead early on after Nani scored a well taken shot, dribbling past two Chelsea defenders. Chelsea came back in the second half with two goals from Ricardo Carvalho and Frank Lampard only for Wayne Rooney to equalize in

injury time. Peter Cech saved two poorly taken penalties from Giggs and Evra to lead Chelsea to their 4th Community Shield win. It was probably a poor choice to let Evra take a penalty with likes of Rooney and Owen available as he was clearly too wound up from his altercations with Michael Ballack earlier in the game. Chelsea's second goal was cause for great debate and the manager had this to say.

Sir Alex Ferguson:

"If the referee sees it properly it is a red card," said Ferguson."He has clearly elbowed him. The referee had a clear view of it, he was in line, he should have seen it." Ballack appearedto obstruct Evra, who went down injured, but the referee did not award a foul and as play continued Frank Lampard scored. The referee made a rod for his own back," added Ferguson.

"He stopped play twice, once when Nani was tackled, then on the second occasion Ballack went down, which we've seen before"

"The referee said it was a serious incident when Ballack went down but he was up straight away. So I don't understand why he didn't do it with Evra. "When you see the replay you see Ballack has elbowed him but it's hard to blame the Chelsea players for carrying on. It's a professional game."

Carlo Ancelotti:

"A referee can stop the play and also the players can put out the ball," stated Ancelotti. "They didn't see Evra on the pitch so they continued. If they had seen him a Chelsea player would have put the ball out."

He added "We need to improve further but I like our mental attitude and we're ready to start a very important season.""United will be the most important opponent in the Premier League because they are a great team. "In the first half, Manchester played very well and we didn't play for 30 minutes."We improved in the second half because we put more strength on the field and we deserved to win. We have to improve because we changed a little bit the play of the team and we still have to work."

But Ancelotti denied reports that Chelsea are to sign Brazilian Pato from AC Milan for £45m

"It is not true because Pato is a Milan player," said the Italian."He is a young player and Milan believe a lot in Pato. They sold Kaka' and now Pato is an important player for them"

Well it looks to be a very interesting season. My firm favourites for the title would be Chelsea but I just have this feeling that it just might be Wenger's year.

Egyptian League Kicks- Off

The Egyptian League kicked-off yesterday evening with three games played.

Last season's runners up Ismaily came back from 2 goals down vs newly promoted Mansoura to snatch a precious away draw. Egyptian International goal keeper Essam El Hadary had his debut yesterday for Ismaily and conceded twice, news that I'm sure would have come as music to many Ahly fans' ears.

Defending Champions Al Ahly started off their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Mahala in Cairo. Egypt Captain Ahmed Hassan opened up the scoring on 40 minutes while new signing Francis Doe or Foreky (not sure which is the right name) sealed the result by scoring on his debut with a well taken finish.

Ahly opted for a 4-5-1 formation, which for some reason the whole of Egypt likes to call 4-4-2, with Doe supported by Abu Trieka. Ahly dominated most of the match although never really impressing and Gilberto looked really out of place in the new set up, still, on his off day he was much better than his substitute Eino. The only positive to come out of the game (other than Doe) was young Goal Keeper Ahmed Abdel Moneim. He made a couple of decent saves and kept Ahly up 1-0 with an excellent 0ne-on-one stop. He still has a long way to go to prove that he is worthy of being Ahly's number one but looking at his current competition he should do well.

As for Doe..check out these 2 goals in the MLS

Elsewhere Tala' El Geish and Arab Contractors played out a 1-1 draw. The rest of the opening week's games are to be concluded tonight with the highlight of the games being the newly rejuvenated Zamalek taking on strong Enppi

OFFICIAL: Huntelaar to Milan!

According to Football Italia

It is now official – Klaas Jan Huntelaar will sign a four-year contract with Milan and undergo his medical tomorrow.

“AC Milan announce they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for the purchase of Klaas Jan Huntelaar,” read a statement on the club website.

“The Dutch player will undergo a medical tomorrow, after which he will sign a contract tying him to the Rossoneri until June 30, 2013.”

Vice-President Adriano Galliani had already stated this morning that a deal was done with the Merengues, but now the news is official.

Although no figures have been confirmed, it is believed Milan will pay around £13m for the striker.

It is still almost £8m less than Real Madrid paid to take him from Ajax only seven months ago.

10 Things I Hate About It!

Well as the new season of the Egyptian League is set to start on Thursday the 6th of August I though I'd make a list of the Top Ten things we are all sure to see throughout next season:

1- Synchronized Diving

2- Pitches that look like they just survived World War II

3- Medhat Shalaby trying to come up with another quote to top "Beebo we Besheer"

4- Men in Tights

5- Colourful Training Suites

6- Blind Referees

7- Even Blinder Linesmen

8- Mothers, Fathers, Wives of Coaches, Players, Referees and Administrators insulted for no good reason

9- Zaki, Mido and Shikabala fighting to take a Penalty

10- Farouk Gaafar

Feel free to add some more:)

Pirlo Can Go

The AC Milan transfer policy this season has been a joke in my opinion and that is not because they sold Kaka' to Real Madrid. I was never for keeping players in a club against their will although it seems Kaka' might have been pushed out of AC Milan starting with Man City's offer last season. I think at the end of the day he did want to leave and that is why he picked Real whose offer was substantially lower than that of City. Never the less 65m Euros seems to be a great price for Kaka' and Milan would have done well to sell him for that kind of money. Everyone expected the rebuilding to commence immediately especially that the Milan squad is so old that you can actually picture current coach Leonardo on the field with great ease. But no, nothing happened and the Milan administration came out and told us that the bulk of this

some will be to settle debts and no big money transfers are to be expected. They chased Wolfsburg striker Dzeko for a while and ultimately failed to land the prolific goal scorer due to one reason, money! Oh and lets not forget attempting to renegotiate the Aly Cissokho deal with Porto by claiming he had bad teeth! They followed this up with an embarrassing attempt to lure Brazil Striker Luis Fabiano. I'm not a fan of him but a 12.5m Euros offer for Brazil's number one striker is a joke. Again Mr. Galliani and co. told us that funds were tight. One thing crossed my mind at that point...Where did the 15m Euros from the sale of Yoann Gourcuff ever disappear to? Don't let me start on how Milan managed to chase away the super talented Frenchman who was one of the main reasons Bordeaux broke the grip Lyon hand in France and would have been a direct replacement for Kaka'. However I feel in this case the damage already done by Carlo Ancelotti was irreversible. Anyways Milan have managed to acquire around 80m Euros in transfer funds and all we got to show for it was U.S.A Defender Oguchi Onyewu. Don't get me wrong he is a solid addition to the aging back line, but surely we deserve more.

It seems now the Milan Administration is once again going to sell one of it's stars only this time it's Andrea Pirlo. The Brescia born midfielder has been a prominent figure in AC Milan for the last 8 years managing to win all possible domestic honours, two Champions Leagues, one FIFA Club World Cup and off course the World Cup in 2006. For once I happen to agree. There is no doubt regarding the talent of Pirlo but with his high salary, age and the amount of money offered (reported to be around 15m Euros) Milan could be on to something. The talented play makers slow pace and lack of fighting spirit has been ever so evident in preseason friendlies plus rumor has it that he doesn't fit into Leonardo's plans. Add to that the presence of battling midfielders in the squad like Gattuso, Flamini and Ambrosini and it's clear the move makes more sense from Milan's side. From Chelsea's perspective it makes less sense to me, but it's very possible Ancelotti wants to add much needed depth to his squad so he is able to battle on all fronts this season. Galliani this time around has finally informed the Milan faithful that money from Pirlo's sale would go into strengthening the squad and with rumors flying regarding Sneijder, Hernanes, Fabiano and Huntelaar I think its fair to say that Pirlo can go.

Sherif Abdel Fadeel to Ahly

For the past week I have been reading news about Sherif Abdel Fadeel's transfer from Ismaily to Zamalek, then to Ahly, to Zamalek and finally to Ahly. There seems to be no easy straight forward way for transfers to come about in the Egyptian market especially when it involves the 3 footballing superpowers, Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily. Who can forget last years antics regarding Egyptian International Defender Hani Said? His transfer from Ismaily to Zamalek involved car chases, kidnappings and an alleged assault with a deadly weapon!!!! So by comparison this transfer saga seems smooth. My problem is not where he ended up at or why did he change his destination in the 11th hour from Zamalek to Ahly. My problem arises form the half truths and sometimes outright lies we hear from officials and individuals who are directly involved in these transfers. Did Sherif's brother really walk away from the negotiating table cause Zamalek offered L.E. 1.45m and he wanted 1.5m ? Surely Adebayor wouldn't have rejected City for £1000 a week less? And then I read some place that an expert is saying that Ahly won't be able to register Abdel Fadeel for the new season. I'd like to see this guy eat his words when he finds Sherif wearing the famous Red and White Ahly jersey next season. For once I'd like people to own up to what they say when they are proven wrong or when they make stuff up.

The deal reportedly went through for L.E 7.5m with Ahly right back Ahmed Sedeeq

going to Ismaily in a part-exchange deal. While I will be saddened to see the dedicated, ever professional flying wing back Sedeeq (I like to call "kahraba" due to his electric pace) go, it seems Ahly have done good business this time around. While in my opinion no one Egyptian player is worth L.E. 1m, let alone L.E. 7.5, but this is a discussion for another time. Abdel Fadeel is currently one of the leading Centre Backs in the country and he can also play on the right side of defense. The boy can play football and has incredible physique. He joins an Ahly team whose defense is in dire need of an upgrade. Gomaa is getting too old and while he is still a top defender his legs can't keep up with him anymore. Mohamed Samir is inexperienced and finally there is Ahmed El Sayed....well...need I say more? It remains to be seen if Sherif can prove to be the missing peace of the puzzle and honestly despite his ability the odds are stacked against him since no matter how hard you try it is almost impossible to keep a clean sheet with no goalie between the posts :P