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10 Best Sporting Moments of 2011

What a year 2011 has been from a sporting perspective. With so many amazing triumphs this year, both individual and team based, here at Sports Banter we thought it was necessary to go through our top 10 sporting moments.

On the flip side, 2011 was also a year of sporting scandals, infamous matches and failed attempts at tv careers. We’ll get to that one tomorrow though. For now, here are our top 10 sporting moments of 2011, let us know if you agree or disagree with any of these in the comments section.

10. Manchester Clubs Knocked out of the UEFA Champions League

I had to include this one as this was one of my highlights of the year. Both clubs were earmarked to progress quite far in the competition and I don’t think I was the only one who enjoyed seeing both teams crash out early.

: Courtesy of the Telegraph.co.uk

As an Arsenal fan, it was made even more special by the fact that supporters of both clubs had been giving it to me over the 8-2 hammering (Man Utd) and the defection of two of our best players to Manchester City.

: Courtesy of The Guardian

It really couldn’t have happened to two classier clubs or supporters!

9. Queensland Reds Win the Super Rugby competition for 2011.

2011 was a great year for Australia in the Super Rugby tournament with the Queensland Reds taking out the title defeating the always strong Crusaders in the final 18-13.

: Courtesy of the Daily Telegraph

Both areas, Queensland and Christchurch, had been devastated by floods and earthquakes respectively and you could tell it meant a lot to the players in what was an emotional send off to season 2011.

8. Kelly Slater’s 11th World Surfing Title

What more is there to say about this bloke, a true champion and despite being 39 he is still going strong, he did leave it until the last two minutes of his heat to take out the title but this just shows his character.

: Courtesy of Salt Water Dreaming

There was controversy too as Slater was handed the title prematurely and had to wait another few days for the boffins to sort out the numbers before being officially crowned for his 11th Title.

7. Barcelona Win the 2011 UEFA Champions League Against Manchester United

It seems like I’m picking on Manchester United but I truly believe that Barcelona winning the Champions League, and in the fashion that they did, is a vindication for the beauttiful game and the way it should be played. As an Arsenal fan I’m no fan of either side, in fact I probably hate Barcelona more than United due to the amount of tapping up they did to lure Cesc Fabregas back to Barcelona.

: Courtesy of Sport360

However, the way that Barcelona plays the game on the pitch is something to behold and it would have been a travesty had United got the better of them with their boring style of football.

6. Six Series Wins in a Row for the Queensland State of Origin Team

This would have been higher up my list if I was not a proud New South Welshman, and the fact that Queensland probably had 4 future immortals making up the spine of the side in Billy Slater, Darren Lockyer, Jonathan Thurston and Cameron Smith. Still a mean feat to go 6 series wins in a row in this day and age so it definitely warranted a spot in my top 10.

: Courtesy of the Courier Mail

You may see this pop up again in the worst sporting moments of 2011 though, it may even rate higher in that list!

5. Black Caviar – 16 Straight Wins

Wow, what more can I say about this magnificent creature, many already consider Black Caviar to be the best sprinter in the world and I would not disagree with that. Pharlap had 14 straight wins, so I think you can see why there is so much hype about this horse!

: Courtesy of foxsports.com.au

We now have to wait until the end of January to see her in action again when she takes part in the Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley. There are also plans to test her out on the International stage, with a run at Royal Ascot planned for mid 2012.

4. Brisbane Roar – 36 Match Unbeaten Streak in the Hyundai A-League

The Brisbane Roar made Australian sporting history just a few weeks ago when they passed the total of 35 matches unbeaten set by the Eastern Suburbs Rugby League club, now known as the Roosters, on their way to 36 matches unbeaten in the A-League. The Roar’s run was ended in early December by Sydney FC at Kogarah in atrocious conditions.

: Courtesy of foxsports.com.au

As is usually the case with these sorts of records, once they end the team tends to go on a bit of a downward spiral and it seems that the Brisbane Roar have been affected, with 4 losses in a row now since they broke that long standing record.

3. New Zealand All Blacks Winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup on Home Soil

Favourites right from the start of the competition, the New Zealand All Blacks got the job done albeit in a tight finish against Les Blues at Eden Park. Like the Crusaders before them, the All Blacks were doing it for a Country in mourning after the devastating earthquakes in February of this year.

: Courtesy of the Mirror

The All Blacks had not won the Rugby World Cup since it’s inception in 1987, a 24 year gap between wins, and did it with Captain Richie McCaw playing on a bung foot for much of the tournament.

2. Novak Djokovic Going 43 Matches Unbeaten in the ATP

What a year for the Joker as he swept all before him, including Federer and Nadal. on his way to an unbelievable 43 match winning streak which only ended in June at the hands of Roger Federer in the French Open. Clay obviously isn’t his forte so it was no surprise that he was eventually undone on that surface.

: Courtesy of tennis.si.com

I think it will be a while before we see that sort of winning streak again, an amazing achievement by the Joker and at his age he will be around for many years to come!

1. Cadel Evans – 2011 Tour de France Winner!

I think this easily rates as the best sporting moment of 2011. Cadel Evans finished runner-up in the Tour de France on two previous occasions, that alone would be enough to hang up the bike and call it a day. Not for Cadel though, at 34 years old, the fifth oldest winner in the Tours history, Cadel became the first Australian to win the event in it’s 108 year history.

: Courtesy of news.com.au

I personally can’t think of a better achievement in the sporting landscape that was 2011. To come back and win the Tour de France after numerous setbacks is an outstanding achievement. To think of all the setbacks that he has endured, being born with a broken nose, kicked in the head by a horse as an eight year old that put him in a coma for weeks, then to finish second in 2007 and 2008 by less than a minute…. Anyone else would have given up!

Let us know your thoughts on our 10 Best Sporting Moments of 2011 in the comments section, and be sure to check back tomorrow for our 10 Worst Sporting Moments of 2011.

Filed Under: Banter, Other Tagged With: a-league, AFL, ARL, Barcelona, Champions League, Cricket, EPL, football, Manchester City, Manchester United, NRL, premier league, rugby league, Soccer, State of Origin

Sportsbanter’s Weekend Sports Wrap – 12 December 2011

By Steve Leave a Comment

A lot to get through this morning with plenty of action over the weekend, we start off locally with week 10 of the A-League and then continue with the weekends Barclays Premier League action and a look at “El Clasico” from Sunday morning.

Hyundai A-League

Five days ago the Roar seemed invincible. What a difference a week makes with the Roar falling to their second consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of a pumped up Melbourne Heart side.

First half goals to Argentinian Jonatan Germano and teenager Eli Babalj gave Melbourne Heart a 2-1 victory that gives every other club in the league hope for this season.

Brisbane threatened another one of its stunning comebacks after Mitch Nicholls scrambled a 77th minute-goal over the line but in the end a win for Heart was nothing more than they deserved. Brisbane will now need to regroup as they take on Wellington Phoenix in Dunedin on Wednesday night.

Courtesy of news.com.au

Wellington Phoenix got a crucial 1-0 A-League win over Perth Glory at Westpac Stadium on Saturday with Ben Sigmund scoring the only goal late in the game.

The winner came in the 85th minute and was the only thing separating the teams in what was a pretty dull and not very entertaining match to be honest. The Phoenix did finish the match with 10 men after substitute Mirjan Pavlovic was sent off for a shocking tackle on Steve Pantelidis from behind deep in stoppage-time, causing more woe for Ricky Herbert with the Phoenix needing all the troops they can muster for the match on Wednesday against the Roar.

Central Coast Mariners have moved to equal top spot in the Hyundai A-League after dispatching local rivals Newcastle 2-0 in an emphatic win at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford on Saturday night.

The Mariners led 1-0 at half-time courtesy of a headed goal to Rostyn Griffiths in the 25th minute before they sealed the three points when Matt Simon scored his fourth goal of the campaign just before the hour was up.

The win means the Mariners have now gone seven matches without defeat, picking up 19 out of a possible 21 points and sit equal with the Roar on points after their loss on Friday night. It now looks like more horses have joined the race for the A-League title with the Roar dropping back to the pack following their record breaking run.

Late on Saturday night Adelaide United snatched a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium with Barbiero the hero with an 82nd minute goal.

In front of 16,562 fans, Victory looked set to take home all three points after Archie Thompson grabbed his fourth goal of the campaign just before the hour mark but it wasn’t to be as Barbiero ensured the Victory went home with another draw, that makes it 6 draws from 10 games now.

Victory could still have won it in the closing stages but Harry Kewell had a shot cleared off the line by Cameron Watson and then both Carlos Hernandez and Grant Brebner failed from within the six-yard box to connect with a Kewell cross with the goal at their mercy.

Gold Coast United have finally broken their run of five successive defeats but they still remain rooted to the bottom of the Hyundai A-League ladder, playing out a 0-0 draw with Sydney FC at Skilled Park in what were atrocious conditions.

It was quite a gloomy day on the Gold Coast and just prior to kick off rain was bucketing down, the conditions made it hard to play real football and Ben Williams was kept extrtemely busy, dishing out nine yellow cards – seven of which went to Sydney – in what was at times a spiteful affair.

While the hosts will be happy to have escaped with their first point since October, the Sky Blues were on the back foot for most of the match and failed to carry on the momentum built when they ended Brisbane’s record undefeated streak last weekend, despite this they will probably be happy to have escaped from the two matches with 4 points under their belt and knowing that they were the ones to knock Brisbane off their perch.

Couresy of insideworldsoccer.com

Barclays Premier League

Manchester United bounced back from their UEFA Champions League disappointment with victory over Wolves, while Robin van Persie was the hero once again for Arsenal as they took down Everton on their 125th Anniversary.

Arsenal 1 Everton 0
Bolton 1 Aston Villa 2
Liverpool 1 QPR 0
Man Utd 4 Wolves 1
Norwich 4 Newcastle 2
Swansea 2 Fulham 0
West Brom 1 Wigan 2
Sunderland 2 Blackburn 1
Stoke 2 Tottenham 1

Robin van Persie scored an absolute screamer to lift Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium and give the fans reason for celebration on the 125th Anniversary of the club. Thierry Henry gave the dutchman a standing ovation for his effort, a goal that even he would have been proud of.

An affair that Arsenal largely dominated but without much to show for it turned in their favour in the 70th minute when Alex Song delivered a a ball over the top to in-form captain Van Persie.

Van Persie judged the ball perfectly, firing home on the volley to mark his 15th league goal this season and lift the Gunners into fourth place on the table, albeit it temporarily with Chelsea due to play Manchester City tomorrow morning.

Aston Villa piled more pressure on Owen Coyle’s Bolton with a 2-1 victory at the Reebok Stadium which leaves them rock bottom of the table this week.

Marc Albrighton handed the visitors the lead in the 33rd minute when he fired in a low shot from a few yards out, before Stiliyan Petrov added to the Trotters’ troubles as his shot took a deflection off Gary Cahill and unluckily into the back of the net.

Bolton did manage to pull one back after the break when a Tuncay pass fell to Ivan Klasnic in the area, allowing him to spin and hook the ball home, but Villa held on for a much needed win.

Liverpool climbed the table this week with a 1-0 triumph at home to QPR inspired by Luis Suarez’s second-half header at Anfield.

The Reds could be without their star striker for an extended period if the Argentinian is punished for either of the two claims the FA are currently investigating, however they have him to thank as just after the interval he applied a glancing header to a pinpoint Charlie Adam cross to plant the ball in the back of the net.

The victory sees Kenny Dalglish’s men leapfrog Newcastle into sixth after their campaign hit another bump at Norwich on Sunday.

Manchester United were in desperate need of a win after crashing out of Europe in midweek and Wolves were the side on the end of it, United romping to a 4-1 triumph over at Old Trafford as Nani and Wayne Rooney grabbed two goals each.

Nani fired the hosts ahead in the 17th minute, leaving Wayne Hennessy with no chance when he picked up the ball from a short corner before smashing a low, powerful shot home.

Rooney doubled the scoreline in the 27th minute, ending his Premier League goal drought dating back to September 18th with a low drive from 25 yards.

Wolves snatched one back immediately after the restart when in form Steven Fletcher nodded into the top corner but Nani put the Red Devils back in the driving seat soon after when he tapped home an Antonio Valencia cross.

Valencia played provider once again as Rooney added his second from just inside the box to seal the commanding win. This sort of goal scoring form could have come in handy in the UCL but he will now have to settle with scoring goals in the Europa League.

Norwich handed Newcastle their third defeat in four games at Carrow Road as they secured a 4-2 victory, with Grant Holt and Demba Ba both bagging braces. Newcastle are on a shocking run of form that has seen them drop from the top 3 to out of the European places within a few weeks.

Wes Hoolahan handed the Canaries the lead in the first half when he tucked the ball over the line from close range in the scramble that followed a 39th minute corner.

Toon’s top scorer Demba Ba then levelled the match up on the stroke of half-time, pouncing on an impressive Yohan Cabaye pass before coolly slotting home into the bottom corner of the net.

The second half was a goal fest with Grant Holt powering home off the underside of the crossbar in the 59th minute after his initial shot was parried back into his path by Tim Krul. Steve Morison then stretched their lead when he thumped the ball in just four minutes later and the Toon’s afternoon then went from bad to worse when Dan Gosling was dismissed for a raised foot on Russell Martin.

Newcastle kept fighting though as Ba added a second off a perfectly-weighted ball from Shola Ameobi but Holt completed his own brace to wrap up the win for Norwich City.

Clint Dempsey saw a penalty saved as Swansea beat Fulham 2-0 at home. The Liberty Stadium clash was locked at 0-0 until the 56th minute when a Scott Sinclair shot took a massive deflection off Dempsey, sending Mark Schwarzer the wrong way for the opener.

The Fulham man’s afternoon then continued to go downhill in the late stages when his penalty was saved by Swans keeper Michel Vorm.

The referee had pointed to the spot after Cottagers substitute Kerim Frei was hauled down by Ashley Richards in the box.

The Swans completed their win late on when substitute Danny Graham scrambled to knock home a Mark Gower corner.

Wigan managed to climb off the bottom of the standings and out of the drop zone with a much-needed 2-1 triumph over West Brom at the Hawthorns.

Defender Steven Reid scored just his second goal in six years when he opened the scoring for West Brom in the 33rd minute.

He found the back of the net from a 25-yard free-kick which was conceded by Gary Caldwell, lifting a superb shot over the Wigan wall and beating goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.

Albion’s lead only lasted four minutes, however, as Victor Moses replied by bending a brilliant strike into the top right-hand corner from edge of the box.

Wigan then took the lead in the second half when Reid brought down Moses in the area and Jordi Gomez made no mistake in converting the resulting penalty, he sent Ben Foster the wrong way and rolled the ball into the bottom corner to give Wigan a much needed win.

On Sunday Tottenham’s 11-match unbeaten run ended with a 2-1 loss at Stoke City.

Matthew Etherington, who played for Tottenham for 3 years early in his career, scored twice in the first half to help send the Spurs to their first defeat since August 28 2011.

Emmanuel Adebayor scored a penalty in the 62nd minute for Tottenham, but they also had Younes Kaboul sent off for a second bookable offence, although replays showed it was quite harsh on Spurs.

In the other game, Sunderland celebrated Martin O’Neill’s first match in charge by beating Blackburn 2-1. Sebastian Larsson scored the winner during injury time to lift them out of the relegation zone and get their season back on track.

Blackburn had reason to be upset with the result with a late penalty decision going against them however it was not to be and Blackburn remain rooted to the bottom of the table. O’Neill, who hasn’t coached for over a year since parting ways with Aston Villa, guided Sunderland to only their third victory of the season.

Courtesy of the Mirror

El Clasico

Barcelona came from behind to win 3-1 at Real Madrid in an eventful “El Clasico”.

In the seventh and final Clasico of 2011, Real Madrid knew that a win would send them six points ahead of bitter rivals Barca with a game in hand.

Jose Mourinho’s league-leading side couldn’t have made a better start by going in front after just 22 seconds – the quickest goal in the Clasico’s history.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes’ poor clearance fell to the feet of Real’s Angel Di Maria, who drilled the ball into the penalty area only for Sergio Busquets to block its progress.

The rebound fell to Mesut Oezil and his volley deflected off Busquets, before Karim Benzema was able to lash home from six yards. A comedy of errors and not the best start for Barca.

Real continued to impress and they could have doubled their lead when Cristiano Ronaldo skewed his shot wide, though Di Maria was perhaps better placed to his right, Ronaldo perhaps a bit selfish but when you have a goal scoring record like his why wouldn’t you be?

Real were in control with Barcelona’s opportunities limited just to counter-attacks, however the visitors levelled proceedings on the half-hour mark through Chile forward Alexis Sanchez.

Lionel Messi was the provider, with the 24-year-old skipping by several challenges before sliding a weighted through ball to Sanchez to fire home adeptly from the edge of the area

Both sides went into the break locked at 1-1, but that changed eight minutes after half-time, when Barcelona were handed the lead thanks to a large slice of fortune.

Xavi’s speculative volley 25 yards from goal took a massive deflection off Marcelo to wrong-foot Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas, with the ball spinning off the post and into the back of the net.

Ronaldo then wasted another good opportunity, with the Real captain heading wide despite being completely unmarked inside the penalty area.

The hosts were made to pay for their profligacy, as a quick counter-attack ended with Cesc Fabregas scoring his eighth goal for his new club.

Messi slid the ball out to Dani Alves on the right, who whipped in a terrific cross towards the backpost. It was met by an unmarked Fabregas, who headed home.

Real had some late opportunities to get themselves back into the contest, but Barca held firm to move to the top of the La Liga table on goal difference. Real do have a game in hand but you’d much rather have the points in the bank to be honest.

Any thoughts on this weekends action, feel free to comment or visit our forum.

Filed Under: Banter, Soccer Tagged With: a-league, Arsenal, ausvnz, Barcelona, Clasico, Cricket, Cricket Australia, EPL, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, premier league, Real Madrid, Soccer, Tottenham

UEFA Champions League 2011/12 – Match Day 6 Round Up – Wednesday

By Steve Leave a Comment

Chelsea booked their place in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League in style after a 3-0 crushing of Valencia, while Arsenal’s campaign ended with a 3-1 loss to Olympiakos, albeit with a massively understrength team.

Group E
Chelsea 3 Valencia 0
Genk 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1

Group F
Dortmund 2 Marseille 3
Olympiakos 3 Arsenal 1

Group G
APOEL 0 Shakhtar 2
Porto 0 Zenit St Petersburg 0

Group H
Barcelona 4 BATE Borisov 0
Viktoria Plzen 2 AC Milan 2

Image Courtesy of Sky Sports

The Blues smashed Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to finish the night as winners of Group E, just a few hours earlier there were fears that they could drop out of the UCL entirely. Bayer Leverkusen could only draw away to Genk, with the Germans slipping down into second spot.

There was talk of a crisis as Andre Villas-Boas was within a whisker of bowing out of Europes premier competition, Roman Abramovich has made no secret of his desire to win the Champions League and an early exit would not have been good for the new Chelsea manager.

Didier Drogba gave Chelsea the dream start they were after when he combined with Juan Mata after just 3 minutes, some very dodgy defending did not help matters for Valencia.

Valencia threatened to hit back but fell further behind in the 22nd minute when Drogba was the architect this time. He made a great run forward and played a beautiful pass to Ramires who slotted home after Victor Ruiz allowed the midfielder to get away from him far too easily.

Drogba grabbed a deserved second 14 minutes from time following Mata’s pass once again, Drogba really looks to be hitting some form again and that can only be a good thing for Chelsea with Torres not living up to his price tag yet.

Bayer Leverkusen’s shock failure to beat Genk, where Jelle Vossen’s opener was cancelled out by Eren Derdiyok, meant that the Blues clombed to the top of the group, with the German side slipping to second and Valencia heading into the Europa League. Genk eliminated altogether but with the group they were in there are no surprises there.

In Group F, a heavily altered Arsenal side went down 3-1 to Olympiakos, their first defeat in this years competition. Olympiakos looked set to join the Gunners in the last 16 as Borussia Dortmund led Marseille 2-0 at home only for Marseille to produce a stunning late fightback to win 3-2.

Arsene Wenger’s decision to field an almost reserve Arsenal side away to Olympiakos back-fired though, as the Greek side triumphed but were unable to join the Gunners in qualifying from Group F.

Arsenal caused their own downfall to be honest, a defensive mix-up between Djourou and Squilacci giving Djebbour a simple chance which he easily converted, Lukasz Fabianski was carried off with a knee injury not long after as he dived to save a shot.

Vito Mannone replaced Fabianski and then produced a one of the most spectacular goalkeeping blunders, racing off his line to head clear before electing to attempt an overhead kick to Fuster’s effort when he could have caught the ball, completely missing his kick to leave the Gunners 2-0 down with little hope of getting back into the match.

Yossi Benayoun produced a quality strike to bring Wenger’s side back into the contest after 57 minutes but Olympiakos added a late third through Modesto, only for their celebrations to turn to despair as news of the other result filtered in.

Marseille were just minutes away from slipping down to the Europa League, however they produced a quite stunning late come back, coming from 2-0 down to defeat Borussia Dortmund 3-2. Even more remarkable is the fact that Marseille were playing in Dortmund.

Jakub Blaszczykowski opened the scoring for Dortmund in the 23rd minute before a Mats Hummels’ penalty doubled their lead.

Loic Remy hit back for Marseille right on the stroke of half-time, the second half looked to be heading towards a Dortmund win or at best a draw for Marseille but with five minutes left Andre Ayew levelled the scores. You would think that would have been the end of it but Marseille had other ideas when Mathieu Valbuena struck three minutes from time to secure second spot and leave Olympiakos in third place and heading down to the Europa League.

APOEL suffered a surprise home defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk, but it mattered little in the end as APOEL had already qualified in Group G and as FC Porto and Zenit had a 0-0 draw it was enough to leave them as group winners.

Luiz Adriano put Shakhtar, who finished bottom of the group despite the win, in front in the 62nd minute before substitute Yevgen Seleznev added a second with just 12 minutes to go.

Zenit St Petersburg joined APOEL in progressing to the knockout stage as they claimed the solitary point they needed away to Porto. Porto go back to the Europa League and now have a chance to defend the trophy they picked up last year.

There was little to play for in Group H as we know with Barcelona already guaranteed of top spot and AC Milan through in second ahead before match day 6 had even had a ball kicked.

Pep Guardiola understandably rested pretty much all of his key men ahead of this weekends El Clasico meeting with Real Madrid, but they were still too strong for BATE Borisov winning 4-0.

Sergi Roberto opened the scoring before the interval with Martin Montoya and Pedro’s brace making the game safe in the second period.

AC Milan threw away a 2-0 lead away to Viktoria Plzen after late goals from David Bystron and Michal Duris gave Plzen a 2-2 draw and entry to the Europa League at the expense of BATE.

A quick-fire brace early in the second half from Alexandre Pato and Robinho put the Serie A giants in charge, only for a late lapse to see the victory slip out of their grasp. It mattered little but that lapse in concentration will surely be looked at going forward.

Filed Under: Banter, Soccer Tagged With: Arsenal, Barcelona, Champions League, Chelsea, football, Soccer, UEFA

UEFA Champions League – Matchday 6 Preview

By Steve 3 Comments

GROUP A

Group A’s second spot is still up for grabs however Bayern Munich have already qualified as group winners. The battle for second place is between Napoli and Manchester City, with the Italians a point better off and they also have a favourable record in the head-to-head battles.

City have to beat Bayern Munich at Eastlands and hope Napoli fail to win away to Villarreal, who have lost all five matches and scored just 2 goals in those five matches. Manchester City lost their last clash 2-0 but will hope that the home ground advantage gets them through here. Any other result will send Napoli through in second and condemn City to the Europa League final 32. I can’t see Napoli being beaten by Villareal as they are fighting for that second spot and will no doubt give it their all to qualify.

I think Napoli will go through and Manchester City will be condemned to the Europa League with Villareal crashing out of Europe altogether.

GROUP B

Inter Milan have already qualified for the first knockout round as group winners, but with Trabzonspor, Lille and CSKA Moscow separated by just a single point, it promises to be a dramatic final match day.

For Trabzonspor, the task is simple, if they win against Lille they will be through. A draw in Lille and they would be relying on CSKA not winning in the San Siro to keep second place. As CSKA go to Inter and are little chance of winning, Trabzonspor may feel a draw will be enough. A draw for Trabzonspor guarantees Europa League football at worst. If they lose to Lille, CSKA can take the Europa League place, on head-to-head, with a draw in Italy.

Lille’s requirements are just as straightforward, they must win at home or face elimination, and if they win they are guaranteed to finish second due to their head-to-head record with CSKA. If CSKA better Lille’s result then the French side will be eliminated from Europe completely.

CSKA have things out of their hands, as with Lille and Trabzonspor facing off the only way the Russian side can qualify is if they win at Inter and the other match ends in a draw. They will definitely be in the Europa League with a draw coupled with a positive result over in Lille.

I can see Lille beating Trabzonspor at home despite their poor form so far this season, I can also see CSKA getting a draw against Inter with the Italians already through and this would see Trabzonspor exit Europe with Lille into the knock-out rounds of the UCL and CSKA into the Europa League.

GROUP C

Benfica have qualified and currently in top spot, level on points with Manchester United on nine points with FC Basel on eight. As United and Basel play each other Benfica cannot finish outside the top two and are guaranteed a spot in the knock-out stage.

Benfica are firm favourites to win the group, being at home to Otelul Galati, who have lost every match so far. Victory guarantees them top spot in the group and they will also finish first with a draw if the other match also finishes level. If Benfica lose they will definitely finish second.

Manchester United travel to Switzerland knowing they need a point to go through, and can top the group by bettering Benfica’s result. FC Basel can only qualify with a win, any other result for them means Europa League football.

As much as I hate to say it I think Manchester United will qualify despite their poor form recently, they should have enough for a customary 1-0 over FC Basel. I can’t see Otelul Galati getting any kind of result against Benfica so it would Benfica & Man Utd going through to the knock-out stages and Basel relegated to the Europa League.

GROUP D

Real Madrid have secured top spot with 5 wins and have scored 16 goals in the process, while Ajax have a three-point cushion over Lyon. As both matches between these two sides finished goalless, the head-to-head record is level, so only overall goal difference will matter. Lyon need a seven-goal swing at least to overhaul Ajax, and with the Dutch side facing Real and Lyon playing Dinamo Zagreb it is possible although not likely.

If the two sides finish with identical records, including goals for and against, then it goes to combined club and country coefficient – on which Lyon have a considerable lead. There would need to be some serious luck for this to happen as only Real Madrid beating Ajax 3-0 and Lyon beating Dinamo 4-0 would allow this to occur. I don’t think Real would settle for 3 goals with the form they are in at the moment.

Dinamo have lost every game so are out of the picture and have already been eliminated from European competition.

I think Real Madrid will beat Ajax quite comfortably but I don’t think Lyon will beat Dinamo by enough to go through to the knock-out stages, they will have to settle for the Europa League.

GROUP E

Bayer Leverkusen are through to the knock-out stages due to Chelsea and Valencia meeting on match-day 6, but top spot still remains up for grabs. Leverkusen can take top spot by winning away to Genk. However if they do not beat Genk then the winner in the other tie would finish first with the Leverkusen runners-up.

A 0-0 draw will not guarantee Chelsea qualify despite many beliveing this is the case. If Leverkusen lose in Belgium to Genk then Chelsea would be eliminated with any draw, including a 0-0. When three teams are level on points a mini-league is then created withoutany of the games involving Genk. Leverkusen would finish in top spot having secured one more point than their rivals in this league. Valencia would finish above Chelsea as they would have scored one more goal than the London club, both would have five points and a goal difference of +1.

Chelsea can only finish second with a 0-0 draw if Bayer Leverkusen pick up some points from their match with Genk. A 1-1 draw would put Valencia through on goal difference and any other draw would put Valencia in the knock-out rounds on head-to-head having scored more away goals.

Either Chelsea or Valencia can guarantee qualification with a victory, and will finish top if Leverkusen also fail to win. The loser at Stamford Bridge would enter the Europa League and Genk eliminated altogether.

I think Valencia will get a point against Chelsea but it won’t end up 0-0. Leverkusen will beat Genk which would see Leverkusen top the group and Valencia finish second either on goal difference or on scoring more away goals.

GROUP F

Arsenal are guaranteed of topping group F with a four-point buffer over Marseille, but there are several possibilities for second place and for the Europa League berth.

Marseille will guarantee a place in the knock-out stages with a victory away at Borussia Dortmund. However, if they fail to pick up maximum points it could let in Olympiakos, who would move up to second with a home win over Arsenal, unlikely as that may seem considering Arsenal’s current form.

For Dortmund, the outlook is quite bleak. As they lost 3-0 away to Marseille and because of their inferior goal difference, they must win by four goals to overhaul the Ligue 1 side. A win by any smaller margin would send them to the Europa League – but only if Olympiakos lose to Arsenal, otherwise Olympiakos will take 3rd spot.

This is another group where all three teams can finish level on points, which will happen should Olympiakos draw and Dortmund win – all sides would then be level on six points in the mini-league with Arsenal removed from calculations so it comes down to goal difference between the three.

There are several permutations should all three sides end up level on points. If Dortmund win by one goal, Marseille will finish second, Olympiakos third and Dortmund fourth. If Dortmund win by two or three goals then Olympiakos will be second, Marseille third and Dortmund fourth. If Dortmund win by four goals it will be Olympiakos second, Dortmund third and Marseille fourth. Dortmund can only qualify for the knockout rounds via the three-team mini-league if they beat Marseille by five goals or more, which would push Olympiakos into the Europa League.

I can’t see Arsenal not beating Olympiakos so it will come down to whether Dortmund can beat Marseille by enough goals to qualify. I think Marseille will get at least a draw despite being away from home, with Olympiakos taking third spot and going into the Europa League.

GROUP G

Apoel Nicosia are guaranteed to be in the knockout stages as the teams in second and third, Zenit and FC Porto, face each other, however any of the three sides can still finish top of the table.

Apoel are at home to Shakhtar Donetsk who have nothing to play for, knowing victory will guarantee top spot as will a draw between Zenit and Porto. Apoel have the better head-to-head against Zenit so will be top if level on points with the Russian side.

Zenit have to travel to FC Porto in search of the draw, which would secure second place. Porto have to win to send them through and put Zenit in the Europa League. Zenit can top the group if they win and Apoel do not. Porto can only top the group if they win and Apoel lose.

This is probably the most open group in terms of which order the top three will finish in, I think Apoel will get at least a draw at home against Shaktar Donetsk, and I think FC Porto could quite possibly top the group here with a win

GROUP H

This group is pretty much done and dusted with Barcelona already winning the group and AC Milan in second. Viktoria Plzen and BATE Borisov are both in with a chance of a Europa League place though, with Plzen having a two-point advantage. BATE can only stay in Europe by winning away at Barcelona coupled with a Plzen defeat at home to Milan. Not likely it would seem, which would see Plzen going through to the Europa League and BATE eliminated from Eurpoe altogether.

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Filed Under: Banter, Soccer Tagged With: Arsenal, Barcelona, Champions League, Chelsea, football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Soccer, UEFA

Steve’s Sportingbet Multi of the Week – 2 December 2011

By Steve 4 Comments

Last week we were let down by mid-week Champions league games with both Barcelona and Arsenal failing to get the job done, we didn’t even need them to win, just to be involved in a high scoring contest which is what both sides do best.

Well this week we’re lucky that we don’t have any mid-week European fixtures to mess us around, and as a result this week is a doozy!

Total payout for the 11 legs comes to $141.41 which is the highest I have ever put on to be honest. I’ve taken a mixture of English Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, Serie A and La Liga to arrive at this weeks multi, with a combination of outright wins, overs/unders and +0.5 handicaps to boost the odds a little.

Have a look and let me know what you think, be sure to also let us know what multi’s you plan on placing this week too.

Happy punting!

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Filed Under: Banter, Banter's Best Bets Tagged With: Barcelona, EPL, football, Liverpool, multibet, premier league, Soccer, sportingbet

Steve’s Sportingbet Multi of the Week – 25 November 2011

By Steve 6 Comments

Another week, and another narrow Multi fail. This week I’ve pulled out all the stops and eliminated the home grown component of the Multi that tended to be the only leg that didn’t get up, so goodbye to the unpredictable A-League, and hello to the Eredivisie and the Scottish Premier League.

This weeks Multi comprises 11 legs but instead of taking a risk with one leg to boost the odds, this week I let the number of legs to that for me with odds of $80.34. The biggest Multi I have crafted to date and to be honest there aren’t too many legs that I’m particularly worried about.

Let me know of any Multi’s that you will be putting on this week so we can compare.

Good luck and happy betting!

Filed Under: Banter, Banter's Best Bets Tagged With: Barcelona, EPL, football, Liverpool, Manchester City, multibet, premier league, Soccer, sportingbet

UEFA Champions League 2011/12 Wednesday Round Up – Match Day 5

By Steve Leave a Comment

Despite what was an extremely poor start to the season, Arsenal have managed to be the first English team to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates.

This is the 12th consecutive season that Arsene Wenger has managed to achieve this and they have got one up on their English counterparts in Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, all of which need to wait until the final match to try and qualify. In Manchester City’s case, their destiny is out of their hands as if Napoli beat Villareal it won’t matter what their result is against Bayern Munich.

So once again it looks as though ‘Arsene knows’ as his team goes from strength to strength and defies all of the critics that have slated them this season.

Match Day 5 – Wednesday Round Up

After a goalless first half Arsenal broke the deadlock with Robin van Persie again finding the net. Alex Song showed some superb skill to weave his way past three Dortmund defenders before crossing for van Persie to head home at the far post past Roman Weidenfeller.

Van Persie was at the double late in the match when Arteta sent over a corner for Vermaelen to flick on at the near post, van Persie obliged and smashed the ball home to continue a remarkable year. Kagawa pulled a goal back for Dortmund in the dying seconds, but it was too little too late as Arsenal secured their place in the last 16.

In the other game in Group F Olympiakos boosted their hopes of reaching the last 16 after picking up an impressive 1-0 win over Marseille at Stade Velodrome.

Ioannis Fetfatzidis was the hero for Olympiakos as he hit the winner eight minutes from time to move the Greek side into third spot in the group.

Chelsea face a nervy final matchday after they threw away a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen in the BayArena. Chelsea made the breakthrough three minutes into the second half when Drogba collected Daniel Sturridge’s pass and twisted and turned his way in the box before firing low into the bottom corner.

However, Chelsea’s defensive problems were again highlighted 17 minutes from time when they were caught napping as substitute Eren Derdiyok headed home with almost his first touch after coming on.

Manuel Friedrich popped up with a late winner for Leverkusen in the closing seconds to pile the pressure on Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas.

In the other game in Group E Valencia ran riot at La Mestalla as they thumped Genk 7-0.

Oliveira Jonas set Valencia on their way with the opener after just ten minutes before Roberto Soldado took control with a hat-trick in the first half.

Pablo Hernandez got in on the act on 68 minutes and Aritz Aduriz made it 6-0 two minutes later. Tino Costa completed the rout for Valencia with a seventh goal nine minutes from time.

APOEL Nicosia made history as they became the first Cypriot side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League after earning a goalless at Zenit St Petersburg. Quite an effort and is a direct result of UEFA’s splitting of the qualifiers to ensure Champions of the lesser known leagues have a direct route to the group stages.

The Cypriot champions only needed a point to reach the last 16 for the first time in the club’s history and they held on to secure a draw after a stubborn rearguard performance.

The match was almost called off after an incident in the second half saw referee Felix Brych take the players from the field because of smoke from a flare in the stands, this could see Zenit face punishment from UEFA.

Porto kept alive their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages with a 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Hulk put Porto ahead 11 minutes from time and an unlucky own goal from Razvan Rat in the final minute sealed the win for the Portuguese champions.

Champions League holders Barcelona secured top spot in Group H with a 3-2 win over AC Milan, a five-goal thriller at the San Siro deciding the group winners.

Barcelona were gifted the lead on 14 minutes when former Barca midfielder Mark van Bommel diverted Seydou Keita’s cross into his own net, an unfortunate own goal and in the end this cost his side dearly.

Milan drew level on 20 minutes when Zlatan Ibrahimovic found the net against his old club after collecting Clarence Seedorf’s pass and firing past Victor Valdes.

Barcelona restored their lead just past the half hour mark when Lionel Messi scored from a retaken penalty after Xavi was brought down inside the box by Alberto Aquilani.

Former Portsmouth man Kevin-Prince Boateng drew Milan level again on 54 minutes with a superb individual goal.

However, Barcelona grabbed the winning goal on 63 minutes through Xavi after fine flowing move from the Spanish champions.

As Barcelona and AC Milan battled it out for top spot, you’d be forgiven for not knowing there was another match being played in Group H. With Plzen and BATE battling to finish in third spot, it was the Czech side who took the spoils in Minsk 1-0.

Plzen put themselves in pole position for a Europa League spot with a 1-0 win over BATE Borisov in Group H.

The win moved Plzen two points clear of BATE, who must now defeat Barcelona at Camp Nou if they are to deny the Czech side third place.

Filed Under: Banter, Soccer Tagged With: Arsenal, Barcelona, Champions League, Chelsea, football, Soccer, UEFA

Ballon d’Or – FIFA World Player of the Year Shortlist 2011

By Steve 4 Comments

The shortlist for the 2011 FIFA World Player of the Year has just been released and although there are some quality players among the nominees, one notable omission caught my attention, here is the list in full:

Eric Abidal (France)
Sergio Aguero (Argentina)
Karim Benzema (France)
Iker Casillas (Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Dani Alves (Brazil)
Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Thomas Muller (Germany)
Nani (Portugal)
Neymar (Brazil)
Mesut Oezil (Germany)
Gerard Pique (Spain)
Wayne Rooney (England)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
David Villa (Spain)
Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Xavi (Spain)

As you can see, there are some quality players there. My gripe is that there is one player that has been omitted from this list who on form over the last 12 months should have been one of the first picked. That man is Robin van Persie, he has been left off the shortlist despite scoring 38 goals so far this calendar year, only rivalled by Messi and Ronaldo.

This goal scoring stat alone makes him one of, if not the best striker in the world in 2011. One of the players included at his expense is the Brazilian youngster Neymar, the kid has potential but could you honestly say he is FIFA Player of the Year material yet?

Another player included in this final list is Luis Suarez, sure he has been great for Liverpool in the last 10 months since moving from Ajax, but his stats hardly stack up against RVP’s over the last 12 months, even at Ajax he only scored 12 goals in the 2010/11 season and just the 4 goals for Liverpool to end that season. He’s scored 7 goals so far this season in all competitions. I wouldn’t call that FIFA World Player of the Year quality.

It seems there is a bit of a conspiracy against English clubs when it comes to FIFA, if you take a look at the list, only 3 of the players play for English clubs and 2 of them would have been judged partly on their form for other clubs earlier in the year, namely Suarez as mentioned above, and Sergio Aguero who moved to Manchester City from Spanish club Athletico Madrid just a few months ago. The only genuine English player on that list is Wayne Rooney. Now considering that the Premier League is widely considered the best League in the world, how is it that only one player from the League can be nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year?

One question I have is would Cesc Fabregas have been included in that squad had he remained at Arsenal instead of moving to Barcelona in the off season? I would expect that answer would be no and the only reason he has been included is because he now plays for FIFA’s favourite club, Barcelona.

FIFA really need to get their act together and start picking the Ballon d’Or shortlist based on form, not based on their favourite players and clubs like they currently do!

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Filed Under: Banter, Soccer Tagged With: Arsenal, Barcelona, EPL, FIFA, football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Soccer

Steve’s Sportingbet Multi of the Week – 14 October 2011

By Steve Leave a Comment

We’ve had a bit of a rough ride of late but hopefully this week will see things turn around again. Plenty of sport on this weekend with both the Rugby Union World Cup and Rugby League Four Nations in full swing and all of the European football leagues back in action after the international break.

Add to that the A-League in just it’s second week and you have a feast of football action to sink your teeth into over the weekend.

This weeks multi bet sees both the ANZAC clashes covered, as well as some top picks from the British, European and Australian football leagues for a total payout of $15.01.

Good luck.

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Filed Under: Banter, Banter's Best Bets Tagged With: a-league, ARL, Arsenal, Barcelona, EPL, football, multibet, NRL, rugby league, Soccer, sportingbet

UEFA Champions League Final Preview – FC Barcelona v Manchester United

By Steve 1 Comment

This weekend sees two heavyweights of European football go head to head in a rematch of the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. Barcelona took that match out 2-0 at the Stadio Olympico in Rome, with Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi the scorers.

This season the Final is played at Wembley Stadium in England, a clear advantage to the Red Devils as they look to secure a double after winning the Barclays Premier League. Barcelona will be looking for a double of their own after taking out the Spanish La Liga in style over nearest competitors Real Madrid. Both teams have had plenty of time to rest key players with their respective leagues being wrapped up well ahead of this epic showdown.

Manchester United have a number of players staring down the barrel at retirement including Ryan Giggs, Paul Scoles, Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville, they will want to end their careers on a high so motivation will not be an issue here. It will be interesting to note whether Sir Alex Ferguson takes into account the recent off field drama surrounding Giggs when he selects his side for this clash. Giggs was revealed as the Premier League player that had taken out a “super-injunction” to cover up an alleged affair he had with a former Big Brother contestant, he was unmasked on twitter which led to the gag order being worthless in the end, not able to stop the alleged affair becoming public knowledge.

Barcelona have no such dramas to worry about, their preparations for this match have been smooth to date despite having to fly to England 2 days early in an attempt to avoid delays stemming from Volcanic ash which has threatened Europe for a second time. Surprisingly, they asked Arsenal if they could use their London Colney training ground for some pre-match preparations, the Gunners agreeing despite tensions between the two clubs being at an all time high following last season’s attempts by Barcelona to secure the signing of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas through the media, and being the ones who controversially knocked the Gunners out of this years Champions League competition.

Key to this match will be the Barcelona trio of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. If these 3 fire Manchester United will struggle in this match to be honest, I can’t see Vidic or Ferdinand, as good as they are, being able to handle these 3 at the top of their game.

Manchester United will need to employ similar tactics to those that Arsenal used successfully against Barcelona a few months ago if they want to come away with the trophy in this one. Trying to match Barcelona at their own game will not work, the best you can hope for is to repel their attacks and hit them on the counter, something that Manchester United should be proficient at as they are the tactics that they have used successfully against Arsenal over the years.

Barcelona have looked tired over the last few weeks of the La Liga season so maybe the long season has caught up with them and Manchester United could take advantage of this. Anything can happen in a one off game so this may be the best chance that United have ever had to beat the Catalan giants.

I think this match will be closer than people expect with the styles of the two clubs almost cancelling each other out, if Rooney and Hernandez play to their potential they could cause the Barcelona defenders problems of their own. I still think that Barcelona will lift the trophy come 7 o’clock Sunday morning Australian time, but I would not be surprised if the match goes to at least extra time.

Sportingbet Prices
Barcelona: $2.00
Draw: $3.40
Man Utd: $3.65

sportsbanter.com.au Tip – Barcelona
Banter’s Best Bet – Draw after N/T @ $3.40

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Filed Under: Banter, Soccer Tagged With: Barcelona, Champions League, Manchester United, Soccer, UEFA

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Sportsbanter’s Weekend Sports Wrap – 12 December 2011

Arsenal 1 Everton 0
Bolton 1 Aston Villa 2
Liverpool 1 QPR 0
Man Utd 4 Wolves 1
Norwich 4 Newcastle 2
Swansea 2 Fulham 0
West Brom 1 Wigan 2
Sunderland 2 Blackburn 1
Stoke 2 Tottenham 1

UEFA Champions League 2011/12 – Match Day 6 Round Up – Wednesday