Beijing Olympic Games 2008

Ronaldinho could have a great Olympics if he plays for the national side, says the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

The former world footballer of the year, recovering from injury, said this week he expects to be in Beijing with Brazil.

Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira hopes so.

“He’s a player who has the possibility of having a great Olympics,” Teixeira told Globo television station on Thursday. “I ask the fans to support Ronaldinho, who is very important to the team.”

Ronaldinho attended Brazil’s scoreless draw with Argentina on Wednesday and said the Olympics were on his mind.

“I’m sure I’ll be in Beijing,” he told SporTV. “God willing I’ll return. I’m recovering from my injury and I want to return healthy as soon as possible to the national team.”

Ronaldinho lost his status as the world’s best player during a poor season with FC Barcelona beset by injuries _ he missed the last six weeks of the Spanish season with torn adductor muscles and wasn’t available when Barcelona reached the Champions League semifinals. Even when fit he was benched, and the Spanish media repeatedly questioned his attitude and social habits.

Barcelona is trying to offload Ronaldinho with two years left on his contract, and Manchester City is one option.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

As AC Milan finished fifth in the just-concluded Serie A season, thus losing the chance for Champions League, the Italian soccer giant is expected to free Brazilian star Kaka for the Beijing Olympics.
Local media reported Sunday that Dunga, the head coach of the Brazilian national team, paid close attention to Sunday’s Serie A game of Milan against Udinese. Although two Brazilians scored in the game (Alexandre Pato and Cafu), the Italian club was left out of the Champions League despite a 4-1 win.
As a result, Kaka is one step closer to being allowed by the Italian team to represent his home country in this year’s Olympic Games.
The Champions League is scheduled to kick off in August, just as the Olympics are to begin. However, since Milan will not be participating and has no official games throughout the month of August, Dunga is counting on Kaka’s presence on his Olympic roster.
Sunday’s game also marked the last game of two Brazilians with Milan . Both Cafu and Serginho were honored in their last game in a Milan uniform. Cafu is looking into his options of continuing the sport in Brazil. Serginho has not made any statements regarding his future in Brazil.

from: xinhuanet.com

Canada’s hopes to qualify in men’s soccer for the 2008 Olympics received a major blow when Haiti rallied late for a 2-1 victory Friday night in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.

With one game left in Group B play, Canada fell to last place in the four-team group with one point. Haiti earned three points with the victory. Alain Gustave, who entered the game in the 33rd minute, tied the score in the 72nd minute with a 19-yard line drive inside the right post.
Then in the 84th minute, Leonel Saint-Preux won the game with a 40-yard shot from the right flank that fluttered over the outstretched right hand of goalkeeper Josh Wagenaar and into the upper-left corner of the net.
Tyler Rosenlund and Kyle Hall, newcomers to the starting lineup, combined to put Canada ahead in the 17th minute.
Hall dribbled along the right flank, outraced two defenders and crossed the ball to Rosenlund, who redirected the ball from nine yards.
Rosenlund replaced Tosaint Ricketts on the left flank and Hall started at forward for Will Johnson, who was suspended after receiving a red card Wednesday night against Mexico.
The top two teams will advance to the March 20 semifinals in Nashville, Tenn.

source: canadianpress.google.com

Despite a rather disjointed performance, the United States under-23 men have put themselves in good position to advance to the semifinals of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying with a 1-0 victory over Panama in a Group A match last night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla..
By defeating Honduras in Saturday’s group finale, the U.S. would win Group A, while a draw would mean second place and also a berth in the semifinals. Should Panama defeat Cuba in their final group game, the Americans would advance regardless of their result. The two semifinal winners earn a spot in this summer’s Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The U.S. edged Panama on a penalty kick from striker Freddy Adu just before halftime. The only other times it came close to scoring was on dead-ball situations, the best opportunities coming just after intermission on a Stuart Holden free kick from the left side that a Panama defender almost steered into his own net and a Holden free kick in the 74th minute which he curled over the defensive wall. Panama goalkeeper Jose Calderon made a diving save.
“I’m really pleased with the effort,” U.S. coach Peter Nowak said, despite his team’s obvious shortcomings. “I think our team played with a lot of heart tonight and we got the result after a very hard fight on the field. . . We’re going to recover now and make sure we’re ready for the third game.”
Panama tried to play defensively, starting a single striker — slightly built Gabriel Torres. The Americans countered with a three-man back-line which easily handled Torres and allowed the Panamanians only four shots on goal, none very dangerous.
Nowak made six player switches from the team that drew Cuba 1-1 Tuesday, sending Holden, Eddie Gaven and Sacha Kljestan in as attacking midfielders. Gaven, for the most part, stayed wide on the left side, while Kljestan was more central allowing the U.S. to play more down the middle than against Cuba.
However, the Americans could not establish a consistent attack. Except for a few minutes at the start of the game and at the beginning of the second half, the U.S. lacked continuity. The two best Americans against Cuba, Adu and midfielder Dax McCarty, seemed to tire noticeably in the second half, showing the effects of two physical matches in two days.
The U.S. did play at a better tempo than it did against Cuba, but the up-tempo movement did not really result in many quality scoring chances. For long stretches, it Americans seemed to be on cruise control and content to not allow Panama much of anything.
Panama’s best chance came in the 85th minute when substitute Erwin Aguilar was sent down the right side with U.S. defender Nathan Sturgis out of position. American central defender Michael Orozco came over to close him down but, despite staring at plenty of net, Aguilar shot wide.

source: http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/2008/u23men/mar14 

Good things never come easy and Chinese playmaker Zheng Zhi’s return to the national team is a good example of that.
Due to his commitment to English Championship club Charlton Athletic, Zheng, known as ZZ to fans, has not appeared in a single international match since the Asian Cup in July.
Zheng finally joined the team after a long flight from London to Dubai, home base of the tough Iraqi side China will play against for the nation’s first World Cup Asian Zone qualifier tomorrow. China’s coach Vladimir Petrovic, who took over in September after Zhu Guanghu was sacked following China’s elimination from the Asian Cup, has been hoping Charlton would release Zheng for some of the team’s international warm-ups so the team could get to known to each other better.
But Charlton manager Alan Pardew rejected Petrovic’s request due to Zheng’s pivotal role in his club’s quest to return to the English Premiership.
Now Chinese fans, many of whom will have their eyes on the team’s first fixture instead of China’s Lunar New Year festivities, pin their hopes on Zheng, hoping he’ll duplicate his outstanding performance at Charlton and lead the team to a win or a draw against Iraq.
Zheng expressed his confidence in winning the match or even finally advancing to the World Cup finals since it might be his last chance.
“For me, this might be the last chance to compete in a World Cup. I will not give up until the last minute,” said Zheng, who will be 34 for the 2014 World Cup.
“All the national team players about my age will treasure this opportunity. We will try to beat Iraq and set up a beautiful start for future matches.”
China’s soccer team has been rife with pessimism since China was drawn into the “group of death” for its third-round World Cup qualifier. The difficult group also includes former Oceania champion Australia, Asian Cup champion Iraq and Asian Games champion Qatar.
But both Zheng and coach Petrovic are upbeat about their opening clash.
“We are coming here to win. I did a lot of work to know our opponent. I do not see any place that we can not match them,” said Petrovic. “And I also know that day is Chinese New Year’s Eve. I will give the best gift to Chinese people and make sure everyone has a happy new year.”
Zheng echoed the coach’s remarks, saying history favors China. “Iraq is the Asian Cup champion but it does not mean it’s the No 1 in Asia,” he said.
“In the 2004 Asian Cup, we beat them 3-0 on home soil. In the 2006 Asian Cup qualifier, we drew 1-1 but we controlled the match. They did not change too much and some of the best players are still on the team. There is no reason to be afraid of them.”
An in-form Zheng has scored an impressive nine goals for Charlton this season and has become a popular figure at the south London club.
His attacking and creativity will be the lynchpin of the midfield, as China plans to play more aggressive soccer. “We will play more aggressively and forwardly,” Petrovic said. “If we choose to play a conservative match, it’s more likely we’ll lose.
“I know how much this match means to our fans. We have to play a beautiful match even if the result is a draw. We will attack and attack. If we win, we will come back home and play our second match against Australia with our morale high.”
Apart from Zheng, another two players based in Europe - Premier League club Manchester City right back Sun Jihai and Manchester United teenage striker Dong Fangzhuo - have also joined the team, but their form is still in doubt due to the long flight and the time change. But Zheng dismissed the concerns.
“It does not make any difference to me. It’s just like two matches a week in the league,” Zheng said. “It’s still in the middle of the season so the physical stamina is not the problem. There is the time difference but it’s also not a big deal.”
Petrovic’s fellow coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who is also in charge of the national team, said Zheng will be in the starting lineup but the other two remain questionable.
“Zheng is very important to the team. The national team is short of a player like Zheng,” said Dujkovic. “Sun and Dong are not at their best. We will wait and see if they are able to play.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

World player of the year Kaka said Thursday he hopes to play for Brazil in Beijing Olympic Games in August.
AC Milan’s striker Kaka has won almost every club and individual honor there is in football except one title, that of Olympic champion.
Indeed, it is the only title Brazil have yet to win despite being crowned world champions a record five times.
Speaking at a World Food Program ‘Fill the Cup’ campaign, Kaka admitted he would like to be selected as one of the three players over 23 years of age permitted in each squad in China.
“I would like to (play) but I will leave it up to the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) and Milan to decide,” he said.

from: xinhuanet.com 

Football designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was launched in Beijing on Sunday by adidas, an official partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Featuring Chinese characters ‘China‘ written by Former president of the Football Association of China Nian Weisi, the ball will be used in Olympic football preliminaries in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, and the Olympic finals in the Olympic City of Beijing.

Nian Weisi introduces the football. (Photo credit: Sportsphoto.cn)

source: beijing2008.cn 

German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich beat the Chinese Olympic team 7-2 in a fiendly match in Munich on Saturday afternoon.
In face of around 50,000 spectators, Bayern sent star players like Loca Toni, Franck Klose and Oliver Kahn to the field. In just one minute after the starting of the match, Italian international Toni headed a super pass to Klose, who scored the net 1-0 with ease. However, the Chinese team staged a fierce offense to equalize the score in just one minute. Right winger Yan Xiangchuang braved over Bayern’s defense line and passed the ball to forward Zhu Ting, who broke the final defense of Kahn.
In the 27th and 41st minute, Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel and German forward Klose scored to achieve 3-1 lead.
At the end of the first half, Chinese captain Li Weifeng made a wrong defense by heading an own score, resulting in a 4-1 lead in favor of Bayern.
During the second half, both sides changed a number of players. In the 62nd minute,substitute Toni Kroos got a pass from Luca Toni to score.
In the 68th minute, Luca Toni shot a empty goal after receiving a brilliant pass from Bommel from the right side.
In just one minute, Chinese forward Zhu Ting scored again to narrow the gap with 2-6.
But Jan Schlaudraff scored in the 85th minute to finalize the score 7-2.
After the match, the Chinese team will travel to France to play matches with several French clubs.

from: beijing2008.cn