Euro 2008 Italy v France

This should be set to opera given it is likely the last we see of Italy's Roberto Donadoni and France's Raymond Domenech. Both have done a miserable job with their squads so far and while there are many great stories of the 2008 Euro, the failure of Italy and France should conclude both coaches careers as national coaches.

To predict this match like akin to decide who will bumble and stumble less (or is it more?). As a supporter of both of these nations programs and domestic leagues, their performances have been an embarrassment. If there is a modest compliment to be made, it that at least Italy has shown the passion and desire to play for the nation. I cannot say the same for France and management must be replaced and every player needs to be put to task. How France, which is ripe with talent has played so miserably is a mystery. France, you cannot go forward without your history. Your history and your future is answered simply; Zizou. The answer is there, you need his leadership to go forward.

It is no secret that this is Roberto Donadoni final moments with (in?) Italy and thankfully Marcello Lippi will be back shortly and restore pride to the Azzurri. Rumors are swirling what formation Donadoni will use but I suspect in a close match, Italy's pride will provide them a win. Gigi will wear the armband and that alone is enough for me to say they will win. Lets move on after this and wait for Lippi to return.

The record stands at 13-7 after squandering a worthy shot for Austria

Euro 2008 Netherlands v France

The Netherlands can seal their advancement to the quarter-finals with a victory over France. France which looked positively abysmal against Romania needs to play a more inspired and creative match or they will likely find themselves out of the tournament.

Marco Van Basten will not tinker with the Netherlands front lines as we will see Ruud van Nistlerooy ready to poach with Rafael Van Der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder in support.

Raymond Domenech will have Thierry Henry back from injury with Karim Benzema. Samir Nasri will be drafted into the midfield with Franck Ribéry moving over to the left. It is also possible that Patrick Vieira will be match fit.

My prediction...simple, without Zizou, France is not ready. Legends aren't replaced like cold product and mes amis, it will take time. The Oranje will take this.

btw..Zinedine's birthday is this June 23rd and you do know he's only 36. Impossible you say...well don't tell me that.

Viva la Vida

eTomorrow (17th in North America), Coldplay's brilliant ten-track Viva la Vida is released. It's an absolute must and strongly recommended.

The cover (my, my what a clever little seque) makes use of one of my favorite painters, the French romantic Eugène Delacroix and his masterpiece, "La liberté guidant le peuple". "La Liberte", painted in 1830 and hangs today in the Louvre, captures the noble sentiments of Parisians under the flag fighting onward for liberty and freedom. To say the work mes amis, this spell-binding masterpiece, is awe-inspiring is a pale understatement as it alone is worthy of trip across the globe to behold in life enriching Paris.
















Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple

Group of Death summary

What more can be said of todays matches from Group C, the "Group of Death" at the Euros. I was completely surprised (and way off-base with my predictions) with each of the matches and was thoroughly unimpressed with the performances of France and Italy as well as surprised by the completeness of The Netherlands. The Oranje clearly played the best of first round matches to date and are front-runner.

The Netherlands 3 Italy 0
So a few months from now (or likely a few years) I'll be pouring through the papers and come upon a story of "Where are they now" with the photo of Roberto Donadoni beside it. The only thing missing today was him holding an umbrella and wondering what might have been. What precisely here isn't simply that The Netherlands outplayed Italy but Italy never played Italian football.

There is no point debating the first goal as Ruud Van Nistelrooy was clearly offside but that is beside the point as The Netherlands completely controlled the match and rarely looked threatened by Italy until Alessandro Del Piero came in at the sixty-four minute. If there is a something for Italy to cling to it is ADP and Fabio Grosso performance however that is a stretch and Roberto Donadoni has some serious decisions to make or this will be his final time coaching the Azzurri. I presume someone at the Federcalcio has Signor Lippi on speed-dial.

This was definitely the Netherlands day. In every aspect of play they controlled the match, swarmed defensively and have no put themselves in the driver seat of Group C with the victory and the important three goal differential.

Romania 0 France 0
I suppose I'm supposed to call this a "tactical match" but why stretch the truth, it was boring and lifeless and a cure for insomnia. I expected much more from France however I suppose the recent friendlies gave us insight into how much this team misses the leadership of Zizou. However Romania should be congratulated as they have well positioned themselves with this draw. This result certainly wasn't expected and can go a long way to advancing their cause to advancing to the quarter-finals. Maybe now Raymond Domenech will bury his grudge against David Trézéguet but that is besides the point for the Euros.

Well after being 4-0 with Group A and B predictions, I've went into an early week slide. I'm counting the France - Romania draw as a loss and obviously I was way off base with the San Remo masquerading as Italy. So the record now stands 4-2...

Euro 2008 France v Romania

The "Group of Death" kicks off today with France and Romania in Zurich as the first match.














France is one of the pre-tournament favorites although Raymond Domenech squad has been completely unimpressive in lead-up friendlies. The lifeless draw against Paraguay was followed up with a meek 1-0 victory over Colombia that not only was troubling but hadn't you waiting for the Copa. Yet the seventh ranked team in the world has a vault laden with some of the worlds finest players and with Franck Ribéry leading the charge, anything is possible.















Romania, after cruelly being drawn into a group that includes France, Italy and The Netherlands now must find a way to control the beauty of Les Bleus. The task falls squarely on the shoulders of Christian Chivu and the goal scoring prowess of Adrian Mutu. Mutu cannot be underestimated and a gem to be watched at the tournament.











France is likely without Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, who looked positively dreadful in the friendlies and definitely a step (or two or three) slower. This is obviously a critical match as one false move in this stage can see a team backed up against the wall. I expect Raymond Domenech to find some youthful vision of Karim Benzema and Nicolas Anelka being fed by the magic of Franck Ribéry and France prevailing 2-0.

Rugby camp with Sébastien Chabal

Just to let you know famed French Rugby star Sébastien Chabal is hosting Rugby camps for children ages nine through fifteen this summer in beautiful Courchevel.

Euro 2008: Group C review

Group C is without question, the “group of death” with Italy, France, The Netherlands and Romania. Each of these matches is a “can’t miss” event and could be talked about for years as classics (hint, “record”). Italy has continuously looked ready to double-up on the 2006 World Cup triumph and I expect them to win the Group with France narrowly overcoming The Netherlands. However let me stress heavily that The Netherlands cannot be taken lightly, possess jaw-dropping firepower and can upset either squad.

Italia
Led by Roberto Donadoni, Italy is rightfully one of the tournament favorites and sensibly seen to advance through Groups C and D to the finals. Mr. Donadoni has possibly the most difficult job in the sport as all eyes have been on him in Italy (and worldwide) since he took over for Marcello Lippi after the World Cup triumph. The Italian squad is a symphony of genius on the pitch led by one of the finest goalkeepers in the sports history, a human-wall, Gigi Buffon. The back four are anchored with captain Fabio Cannavaro who enters the Euros with 116 caps. The midfield is patrolled by Gennaro Gattuso, an on-field bulldog of venom and tenacity who hails from the beautiful southern calabria section of Italy, Andrea Pirlo, Simone Perrotta and the emerging star Alberto Aquilani. Upfront, Alessandro Del Piero will lead the squad along with Antonio Cassano to his right however Donadoni has been experimenting with a number of unique formations, particularly to Italy, which will have three upfront and only three in defense.

Roster

1 Gianluigi Buffon
14 Marco Amelia
17 Morgan De Sanctis
2 Christian Panucci
3 Fabio Grosso
4 Giorgio Chiellini
5 Fabio Cannavaro
6 Andrea Barzagli
19 Gianluca Zambrotta
23 Marco Materazzi
8 Gennaro Gattuso
10 Daniele De Rossi
13 Massimo Ambrosini
16 Mauro Camoranesi
20 Simone Perrotta
21 Andrea Pirlo
22 Alberto Aquilani
7 Alessandro Del Piero
9 Luca Toni
11 Antonio Di Natale
12 Marco Borriello
15 Fabio Quagliarella
18 Antonio Cassano

Matches
09/06/ v Netherlands
13/06/ v Romania
17/06/ v France

France
Raymond Domenech leads another star-studded cast of Les Bleaus. What precisely do you say about a nations team that has put together the sporting standard in player development over the last twenty-five years. France is definitely going through a modest rebuilding phase and how could they note feel a sense of loss without Zizou leading them. The cast is however rich with talent with Franck Ribéry leading the assault of Thierry Henry and Karim Benzema although the exclusion is David Trézéguet is once again hard to explain. In recent friendlys France has looked extremely rusty and will need to hone its scoring touch if they are to attain their goal of winning the Euros.


Roster
1 Steve Mandanda
16 Sébastien Frey
23 Grégory Coupet
2 Jean-Alain Boumsong
3 Eric Abidal
5 William Gallas
13 Patrice Evra
14 François Clerc
15 Lilian Thuram
17 Sébastien Squillaci
19 Willy Sagnol
4 Patrick Vieira
6 Claude Makelele
7 Florent Malouda
11 Samir Nasri
20 Jérémy Toulalan
21 Lassana Diarra
22 Franck Ribéry
8 Nicolas Anelka
9 Karim Benzema
10 Sidney Govou
12 Thierry Henry
18 Bafetimbi Gomis

Matches
09/06/ v Romania
13/06/ v Netherlands
17/06/ v Italy

The Netherlands
Amongst the constant talk of Italy and France, many have forgot the power of the Oranje. Marco van Basten’s squad feature a potent attack with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie and one of the best young strikers in the sport, Ajax’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Between the posts is Edwin van der Sar, coming off the Premier League and Champions League title and Manchester United. The Netherlands unfortunately will be without Ryan Babel who suffered an ankle injury in practice.

Roster
1 Edwin van der Sar
13 Henk Timmer
16 Maarten Stekelenburg
2 André Ooijer
3 Johnny Heitinga
4 Joris Mathijsen
5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst
12 Mario Melchiot
14 Wilfred Bouma
15 Tim de Cler
20 Ibrahim Afellay
6 Demy de Zeeuw
8 Orlando Engelaar
10 Wesley Sneijder
11 Arjen Robben
17 Nigel de Jong
23 Rafael van der Vaart
7 Robin van Persie
9 Ruud van Nistelrooy
18 Dirk Kuyt
19 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Khalid Boulahrouz (late replacement for Ryan Babel due to injury)
22 Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink

Matches
09/06/ v Italy
13/06/ v France
17/06/ v Romania

Romania
The Tricolorii face one of the most difficult of all teams in the tournament give they face three top ten squads in the world. Victor Piţurcă faces an difficult challenge but has made what I consider a brilliant tactical move by using an experienced squad including six players who play together at FC Steaua Bucureşti. This is an important strategic point as the familiarity of play could prove to be an enormous advantage for Romania. Much of their success falls on the shoulders of Adrian Mutu who lead ACF Fiorentina in Serie A this past season.

Roster
1 Bogdan Lobonţ
12 Marius Popa
23 Eduard Stancioiu
2 Cosmin Contra
3 Răzvan Raţ
4 Gabriel Tamaş
5 Cristian Chivu
6 Mirel Rădoi
13 Cristian Sapunaru
14 Sorin Ghionea
15 Dorin Goian
17 Cosmin Moţi
22 Ştefan Radu
7 Florentin Petre
8 Paul Codrea
11 Răzvan Cociş
16 Bănel Nicoliţă
19 Adrian Cristea
20 Nicolae Dică
9 Ciprian Marica
10 Adrian Mutu
18 Marius Niculae
21 Daniel Niculae

Matches
09/06/ v France
13/06/ v Italy
17/06/ v Netherlands

Ligue 1 Orange finale

It's a peculiar thing to start the review of the final day of the season in which the title was won by Lyon to note first, thankfully PSG was saved from relegation but such is the case. With PSG's noble victory 2-1 over Sochaux on the strength of Amare Diané two goals and Bordeaux and Lens 2-2 draw, PSG was saved.















Of course the real story was Lyon's victory which secured their seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title. Their 3-1 victory over Auxerre was never in-doubt as only a minute into the match Karim Benzema scored and the second was added by Fred ten minutes later.

On the opposite end of the table, Lens which had flown so high last year and bordered upon a Champions League spot is sent down to Ligue 2 with Strasbourg and Metz. It is a painful taste for Lens and hopefully a short-lived exodus. Equally said, PSG and Toulouse which look condemned pulled-off the Ligue 1 "great escape". From Ligue 2, Le Havre, Nantes and possibly the best excuse for a road-trip next season Grenoble.

In another odd side-story with Nancy seemingly having locked up third place and the final Champions League spot, they lost to Rennes 3-2 while Olympique Marseille beat Strasbourg 4-3 on two Djibril Cisse goals as well as one each by Sami Nasir and Mamadou Niang. With this swing, Marseille which seemed to have dropped any chance of the Champions League next season with squandered points finds itself in third place and in the Champions League. Allez l'OM Allez!

As an aside, Marseille, which is owned by Robert Louis-Dreyfus the CEO of Adidas-Salomon, unveiled it's kit for next season using a argyle-vest pattern a hint of things to come from Adidas. The jersey is available online now -
























































































Final table ~

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	38	24	7	7	74	37	79
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	38	22	9	7	65	38	75
Olympique Marseille	38	17	11	10	58	45	62
AS Nancy Lorraine	38	15	15	8	44	31	60
Saint-Étienne Loire	38	16	10	12	47	34	58
Stade Rennais FC	38	16	10	12	47	44	58
Lille O.S.C.	38	13	18	7	45	32	57
Nice-Côte d'Azur	38	13	16	9	35	30	55
Le Mans	38	14	11	13	46	49	53
Lorient	38	12	16	10	32	35	52
SM Caen	38	13	12	13	48	53	51
AS Monaco FC	38	13	8	17	40	48	47
Valenciennes FC	38	12	9	17	42	40	45
Sochaux-Montbéliard	38	10	14	14	34	43	44
AJ Auxerre	38	12	8	18	33	52	44
Paris Saint-Germain	38	10	13	15	37	45	43
Toulouse FC	38	9	15	14	36	42	42
Racing Club de Lens	38	9	13	16	43	52	40
RC Strasbourg	38	9	8	21	34	60	35
FC Metz	38	5	9	24	28	64	24

Platform Footy

a while ago I mentioned how I like to put together a Tennis - Football match (r-tennis ala Brazilian volleyball). It seems the crew at Marseille (notably Sami Nasri in the vid) have their own platform-Tennis style.

Ligue 1 Orange update

Call it the Champions League spot that no-one seems to want to win but within Ligue 1 Orange today, Nancy gave up third-place position while playing to a lifeless 1-1 against Valenciennes and Olympique Marseille made a mess of their match against Monaco and narrowly escaped with a 3-2 victory.

In the early match today, Pascal Berenguer scored at the ten minute mark to give Nancy the lead but by mid first half Valenciennes took control of the match. Early in the second-half Johan Audel tied the match and with few serious scoring chances it ended as a 1-1 draw. This was a dreadful result for Nancy who left the door wide-open for Marseille to regain third-place.

Marseille road into Monaco knowing the result of the Nancy match and with Monaco possessing a horrible home record, the match seemed to be a perfect opportunity for them. Monaco played extremely sluggish the first half but despite presenting little offense threat they were only behind 1-0 at the half on Sami Nasri's goal at the twentieth-eighth minute. At the start of the second half Monaco's play continued to be quite passive and then for some unexplained reason, came alive at the fifty-fifth minute and attacked the porous and confused Marseille defense. At the fifty-sixth minute Ignacio González headed home a crossing volley while the Marseille defense stood and pointed out marking responsibilities. Five minutes later, Marseille took the lead once again as Taye Taiwo scored on a goal post rebound as he somehow threaded home a strike through a crowd. The comedy of Marseille's defensive woes continued a few minutes later, as a very weak punch by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda off a corner was brilliantly chipped into the vacant goal by Jerko Leko. With the game now tied it looked like Marseille was going to squander a brilliant opportunity. However at the eighty-second minute a highlight film back-heel by Mamadou Niang set-up Djibril Cisse for another one of his patented finishes and to seal the 3-2 victory. The win puts Marseille back in third place with a tight one-point advantage over Nancy and three matches remaining.

the relegation battle

Each Football season marks the exciting race to the respective championships. However at the opposite end of the table are the battles to avoid relegation which have the potential of destroying a franchise. Likely the saddest example of this is Leeds United which only a few years ago was playing within the Champions League and now is trying to battle up from League 2. This results in some of the most passioned play and each year a few teams rescue their teams fortune and make the "great escape". Within Serie A, Ligue 1 Orange and the Premier League the relegation fight is tight, "can't miss" action as noted below.

Serie A
With four matches left to play it is premature to call but it appears that Cagliari has won the "great escape" of all the leagues, coming up from near extinction and playing as a upper half of the table team since their January victory over Napoli. Over the last fifteen matches they have earned twenty-five points including draws against Roma and Juventus and their escape while not guaranteed, seems very close. Of course what is quite obvious is that with three teams tied in the final three positions and the fourth only one point above, anything can happen.

With Parma visiting Reggina tomorrow, the table could radically change and of all the clubs, Reggina is likely in the best position to jump out of relegation as they face Catania, Empoli and Cagliari in successive weeks. Livorno's schedule is a mountainous challenge as they face A.C. Milan, Atalanta and Torino before meeting Empoli the final weekend. Empoli's schedule includes tough matches against Genoa and Udinese before facing Reggina and Livorno the final weekends. Parma's road is unquestionably the most difficult and why I expect them to be relegated as they face Genoa, Fiorentina and InterMilan after tomorrows match against Reggina. For them to avoid relegation, a win tomorrow is critical.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Catania Calcio	34	8	11	15	29	39	35
Cagliari	34	9	8	17	33	51	35
Torino	34	6	16	12	32	43	34
Parma	34	6	13	15	39	55	31
Livorno	34	6	12	16	31	50	30
Empoli	34	7	9	18	26	48	30
Reggina	34	6	12	16	29	52	30

Premier League (England)
With two matches left to play and Derby County long since resigned to their fate, the battle of the bottom two positions is tight, in particular with the final spot now occupied by Birmingham City. However before you cast Derby aside, they will have an enormous impact on this race as Reading must come into Pride Park to face them in the final weekend of the campaign. Derby's fans have been some of the most loyal in the league and I expect a stellar performance from Derby that day. Reading will not want to come into the final weekend needing points however they face the very difficult task of facing Tottenham next weekend, so this is going to be a very trying situation for the Reading faithful. Fulham's situation is a peculiar one because in-fact this is far too good of a squad to be in this situation. Todays stunning second-half recovery against Manchester City for a 3-2 victory is just part of a odd season of squandered points. While their chances to escape relegation are not easy, I expect the likes of Jimmy Bullard, David Healy and Brian McBride at their attacking best in next weekends match against Birmingham City at Craven Cottage. Their final match of the season is a brutal task of visiting Portsmouth so the task of moving up two positions won't be easy. After todays match, in which Birmingham City threw away a two-goal lead against Liverpool, you have to question the passion of the squad and whether they have the mettle to overcome next weekends tussle against Fulham and the following weekend against Blackburn. Gary Megson's Bolton might have the toughest challenge as they face Sunderland and title-chasing Chelsea the final two weeks and to escape relegation they must earn points against Roy Keane's squad.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Middlesbrough	36	8	12	16	33	52	36
Bolton	36	8	9	19	33	53	33
Reading	36	9	6	21	37	65	33
Birmingham City	36	7	11	18	42	59	32
Fulham	36	6	12	18	35	60	30
Derby County	35	1	8	26	17	76	11

Ligue 1 Orange
Much of the ongoing storyline is whether Paris Saint-Germain will escape relegation and given Strasbourg's extremely difficult final three games against Nancy, Caen and Marseille it would appear that Strasbourg is headed down. PSG's chances of avoiding relegation were given fresh life with a overwhelming 3-1 victory today against Auxerre. The real showdown is coming with the three-way tie between PSG, Lens and Toulouse.

Next weekends match between PSG and Toulouse, in Toulouse, will go a long way in deciding either squads fate. Toulouse is a significantly better squad at home and I expect a tight defensive battle as a they won't want to let the PSG offense to get untracked. Following that match, PSG plays Saint-Étienne and Sochaux-Montbéliard as well as the final in the Coupe de France. Remarkably they could actually be relegated but win two domestic titles and receive a UEFA Cup bid. St. Etienne is in a tight battle with Marseille for the final UEFA Cup spot so points will be at a premium. Toulouse after playing PSG next weekend, has tough matches against Rennes and Valenciennes. Lens schedule includes difficult tests against Monaco, Lille and that final weekend against Bordeaux and likely has the most difficult challenge of the three clubs.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Auxerre	35	11	8	16	30	46	41
Toulouse	35	8	14	13	32	38	38
Lens	35	9	11	15	40	48	38
PSG	35	9	11	15	33	42	38
Strasbourg	35	9	8	18	30	44	35
Metz	35	4	8	23	23	59	20

PSG defeats Auxerre 3-1

The Paris Saint Germain fight to avoid relegation from Ligue 1 Orange took a strong step forward with a 3-1 victory today over Auxerre. On the heels of Amara Diané's brace and Pauleta's goal at the three minute mark, PSG held for 3-1 victory which brings them level with Lens and Toulouse, whose matches are minutes away.

Ligue 1

From Ligue 1 action this weekend:

Sunday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1 Toulouse FC 0
Lille O.S.C. 3 Olympique Marseille 1
In front of 50,000+ at the Stade Vélodrome put on foul lackluster display today in losing 3-1 to Lille and tossed away a perfect opportunity to step two points in front of Nancy.

Within the wind and rain of tonight, l'om never played with a fire or commitment and after Mamadou Niang scored at the twelve minute mark the match was controlled by Lille. Kevin Mirallas struck for two goals and Jean Makoun added the third at the sixty-seventh minute when he walked into the goal-mouth unmarked to tuck in a rebound.












Saturday
Olympique Lyonnais 2 RC Strasbourg 1
AS Nancy Lorraine 1 Le Mans 1
Racing Club de Lens 3 Sochaux-Montbéliard 2
stunning clutch performance by Lens that sees them out of the relegation zone and further pounds a painful nail into the PSG coffin.
AJ Auxerre 0 FC Metz 0
Stade Rennais FC 1 Valenciennes FC 0
AS Monaco FC 2 Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
SM Caen 3 Paris Saint-Germain 0
Saint-Étienne Loire 1 Lorient 0

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	34	22	5	7	68	34	71
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	34	20	7	7	59	35	67
AS Nancy Lorraine	34	14	14	6	38	25	56
Olympique Marseille	34	15	10	9	50	38	55
Saint-Étienne Loire	34	14	8	12	41	33	50
Lille O.S.C.	34	11	16	7	39	28	49
Stade Rennais FC	34	13	9	12	37	39	48
Le Mans	34	13	9	12	40	43	48
Nice-Côte d'Azur	34	11	14	9	30	28	47
Lorient	34	11	13	10	28	32	46
SM Caen	34	12	10	12	39	45	46
Valenciennes FC	34	12	8	14	39	33	44
AS Monaco FC	34	12	7	15	35	41	43
Sochaux-Montbéliard	34	10	12	12	32	38	42
AJ Auxerre	34	11	8	15	29	43	41
Toulouse FC	34	8	14	12	30	35	38
Racing Club de Lens	34	9	11	14	38	45	38
Paris Saint-Germain	34	8	11	15	30	41	35
RC Strasbourg	34	9	8	17	30	41	35
FC Metz	34	4	8	22	23	58	20

Upcoming matches

Saturday
Saint-Étienne Loire @ FC Metz
Toulouse FC @ Lille O.S.C.
Racing Club de Lens @ Le Mans
RC Strasbourg @ Stade Rennais FC
Nice-Côte d'Azur @ FC Girondins de Bordeaux
AJ Auxerre @ Paris Saint-Germain
Lorient @ Sochaux-Montbéliard
SM Caen @ Olympique Lyonnais

Sunday
AS Nancy Lorraine @ Valenciennes FC
Olympique Marseille @ AS Monaco FC

your daily Marseille update

just in-case you see a rainbow in the horizon and hear the happy sounds of blue-birds chirping...it is likely related to Marseille's 2 - 1 victory today over Metz in a match that just ended.

Metz took a quick lead with a Cedric Barbosa goal at the third minute. Marseille tied it with Djibril Cisse strike at the thirteenth minute and finally took the lead with a Samir Nasri in the fifty-sixth minute.

Coupled with a Nancy 2-1 loss to Lille, Marseille is now tied for third and a Champions League spot with five matches remaining in the schedule.

Allez l'OM, allez

seven matches on Saturday

There's a host of great Football matches this Saturday that you'll want to stay up-to-date on. So before you throw on your Lafleur (hmm..maybe the Béliveau) jersey for game 2 in the quest for the twenty-fifth, remember to check-out;

Serie A
A.C. Milan @ Juventus F.C.
A clash of titans and a Juve win could lock down their Champion League visions as well as seriously harm AC. Milan will limp in without Alexandre Pato and both Kakha Kaladze and Alessandro Nesta are serving suspensions. Juventus will miss Pavel Nedved and Cristiano Zanetti in what is going to be a great clash. Looking forward to the Alessandro Del Piero show once again.

Bundesliga
FC Schalke 04 @ SV Werder Bremen
The race in the Bundesliga is incredibly tight and a Werder Bremen could send them two points above Schalke, into a Champions League spot and push Schalke into a UEFA Cup bid. A lot is on the line with this one and Schalke also has to respond in a short-week after losing to Barcelona.

La Primera División de México
América @ Chivas El Súper Clásico - it may not have the impact of some years with them on opposite ends of the table but this is a must see event (well...actually this one is in the Sunday list - but one to watch for)

Monterrey @ Pachuca exciting match to watch and to see if the magic of Ricardo Lavolpe and the goal-scoring machine, Humberto Suazo continues.

Championship League
Watford F.C @ West Brom
Watfords 3-0 debacle against Barnsley mid-week was a dreadful loss this time of year with promotion in sight. With Wolverhampton surging up the table a loss today could put them perilously close to losing their playoff position. A victory by West Brom puts them firmly in the lead with automatic promotion.

Wolverhampton @ Bristol City
The Wolves are on a mission and thundering up the table but face a massive test against Bristol City. At least four squads, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Charlton and Plymouth will be watching this intently as as Wolves win could seriously harm their promotion efforts.

League One
Carlisle United @ Leeds United
Massive match with far too many complexities given the Leeds arbitration hearing is next week and the possibility of the fifteen point reduction being reversed. A victory here and a reversal of the points could see Leeds move within a point of the league title.

I'm off for the weekend..join-in mes amis Allez l'OM, allez

Ligue 1

The Ligue 1 title is pretty much Lyon's with a solid race for the Champions League qualifying spot between Nancy and Marseille. Quite possibly the biggest "race" is to avoid relegation and the dreaded thought of PSG being demoted (hmm..they need a coach familiar to the area who can teach them to win. I wonder who).

Saturday
Saint-Étienne 4 Le Mans 1
SM Caen 1 Valenciennes FC 0
Lille O.S.C. 0 Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
Sochaux-Montbéliard @ AJ Auxerre
AS Monaco FC 2 RC Strasbourg 0
important win for Monaco that should guarantee their safety

FC Lorient Bretagne Sud 0 Toulouse FC 0
Bordeaux 2 Stade Rennais 0
Metz 1 Lens 1

Sunday
Nancy 1 Paris Saint-Germain 0
Marseille 3 Lyonnais 1
In a weekend full of stunning matches (Juventus ~ Palermo, Leeds ~ Leyton, Monterrey ~ Veracruz) this was one of the best.

Throughout the year, Marseille has exhibited multiple personalities, often a porous defense, sometimes lacking offensive vision and at other times, looking like a rival to the top clubs in Europe. Today Eric Gerets squad were the brilliant attacking team and humbled the soon to be league champions, Lyon.

Marseille opened the scoring at the twenty-sixth minute with a Djibril Cisse strike and only a few minutes later Mamadou Niang neatly tucked in the second of the match. Lyon drew one back before the half but Niang headed home his second of the day early in second half.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	32	21	4	7	65	32	67
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	32	18	7	7	56	34	61
AS Nancy Lorraine	32	14	13	5	36	22	55
Olympique Marseille	32	14	10	8	47	34	52
Nice-Côte d'Azur	32	10	14	8	27	24	44
Stade Rennais FC	32	12	8	12	35	38	44
Le Mans	32	12	8	12	36	42	44
Lille O.S.C.	32	9	16	7	34	26	43
Saint-Étienne Loire	31	12	7	12	37	32	43
Lorient	32	10	13	9	27	31	43
SM Caen	32	11	10	11	35	43	43
Valenciennes FC	32	11	8	13	37	32	41
Sochaux-Montbéliard	32	10	11	11	29	34	41
AS Monaco FC	32	11	7	14	33	39	40
AJ Auxerre	32	11	7	14	29	40	40
Racing Club de Lens	31	8	11	12	35	40	35
Toulouse FC	32	7	14	11	28	34	35
Paris Saint-Germain	32	8	11	13	28	35	35
RC Strasbourg	32	9	8	15	29	37	35
FC Metz	32	4	7	21	22	56	18

Wednesday
Racing Club de Lens @ Saint-Étienne Loire

Saturday
Stade Rennais FC @ Olympique Lyonnais
AJ Auxerre @ Le Mans
Saint-Étienne Loire @ FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
AS Nancy Lorraine @ Lille O.S.C.
Toulouse FC @ AS Monaco FC
Olympique Marseille @ FC Metz
RC Strasbourg @ Valenciennes FC
Racing Club de Lens @ Lorient

Sunday
SM Caen @ FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Nice-Côte d'Azur @ Paris Saint-Germain

Ligue 1

Monday
Stade Rennais FC @ AS Monaco FC

Wednesday
RC Strasbourg @ Paris Saint-Germain
incredibly important match for both teams in the fight to avoid relegation. A victory by PSG would draw them out of the relegation zone and pull Lens in, while a victory by Strasbourg would provide them four points of cushion.

Saturday
Saint-Étienne v Le Mans @
Valenciennes FC @ SM Caen
Lille O.S.C. @ Nice-Côte d'Azur
(for those who read over this quickly I want you to consider the "horrible" road-trip of a playing in Nice)
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard @ AJ Auxerre
few will consider the season a success but Sochaux has pulled off the great relegation escape of the season earning twenty points in twelve matches since the January break.
AS Monaco FC @ RC Strasbourg
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud @ Toulouse FC
a highly strategic match for Toulouse as they will need to match pace with Lens and Strasbourg
Bordeaux @ Stade Rennais
Metz @ Lens
Paris Saint-Germain @ Nancy
Lyonnais @ Marseille
highlight match of the weekend. If Marseille is to make a run at a Champions League spot they will need to come out with three points.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	31	21	4	6	64	29	67
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	31	17	7	7	54	34	58
AS Nancy Lorraine	31	13	13	5	35	22	52
Olympique Marseille	31	13	10	8	44	33	49
Le Mans	31	12	8	11	35	38	44
Nice-Côte d'Azur	31	10	13	8	27	24	43
Lille O.S.C.	31	9	15	7	34	26	42
Lorient	31	10	12	9	27	31	42
Valenciennes FC	31	11	8	12	37	31	41
Stade Rennais FC	30	11	8	11	33	35	41
Saint-Étienne Loire	30	11	7	12	33	31	40
SM Caen	31	10	10	11	34	43	40
AJ Auxerre	31	11	7	13	29	39	40
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard	31	9	11	11	28	34	38
AS Monaco FC	30	10	7	13	30	37	37
RC Strasbourg	30	9	8	13	29	34	35
Racing Club de Lens	30	8	10	12	34	39	34
Toulouse FC	31	7	13	11	28	34	34
Paris Saint-Germain	30	7	11	12	27	34	32
FC Metz	31	4	6	21	21	55	18

Saturday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 AS Nancy Lorraine 1
Two Fernando Cavenaghi goals including a late penalty strike gave Bordeaux the win and a safe six point cushion.

Sunday
AJ Auxerre 2 Lille O.S.C. 0
Le Mans 1 SM Caen 1
Olympique Lyonnais 2 Valenciennes 1
A Sidney Govou at the sixty-fourth minute gave Lyon a tight win and moves them closer to their seventh successive championhip

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
Toulouse FC 2 FC Metz 0
Two late goals from Achille Emana provides Toulouse a lifeline to safety.

Olympique Marseille 2 Lorient 1
Played in a brutal storm, this game was much like Marseille's peculiar season of multiple personalities. The first half continued the tailspin that started with the Zenit collapse in the UEFA Cup and of numerous matches where valuable points were squandered.

The first half was all Lorient with them controlling play and Marseille barely able to launch a respectable offensive surge. It looked bleak for Marseille as they played like the first half of the season squad that threated to be relegated. The half concluded as Lorient converted on a ridiculous penalty call (albeit a dive that would make old Jürgen Klinsmann fans pleased) to take a 1-0 lead and you would assume the season was drifting away.

The second half started with an offensive flurry with Cisse, Niang, Cana, Akale and Nasri working brilliantly together like the Champions League squad that started strong in the fall. After the Akale goal early in the second-half it looked like Marseille h