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Colorado Rapids inflicted 10-man Philadelphia Union’s first loss of the season, winning 2-1 at PPL Park in Friday’s Major League Soccer.First-half goals from Pablo Mastroeni and Sanna Nyassi proved enough for the visitors to take all three points, leaving Sporting Kansas City and LA Galaxy as the only teams yet to be beaten at home this season.

It was veteran midfielder Mastroeni who opened the scoring 35 minutes in, collecting Brian Mullan’s throw-in and beating Carlos Valdes, before finding the top-left corner for his first goal of the season.

And Nyassi doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time, receiving a through ball from Omar Cummings to round off a sharp counterattacking move with Colorado’s second.

Keon Daniel and Danny Mwanga enjoyed the Union’s only real chances of the first half, but the introduction of Roger Torres and Michael Farfan saw an improvement from the hosts after the break.

Valdes came close twice, first from a header and then following a quick exchange with Sebastien Le Toux.

But Philadelphia’s task became considerably harder when they lost Sheanon Williams, who was shown two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent toward the referee.

Williams’ departure left the home side a man light with 27 minutes still to play.

They did eventually get one back, with substitute Torres netting in stoppage time to halve the Rapids’ lead.

And Valdes almost equalised with just seconds remaining, but saw his header cleared off the line by Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens, who frustrated the hosts throughout the match.

The hard-earned win sees the Rapids climb to fourth in the Western Conference, eight points behind leaders Galaxy.

The Union remain top of the Eastern Conference, level on points with Columbus Crew.

Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam dismissed suggestions Qatar would share the hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

UEFA chief Michel Platini had requested the event be jointly staged between Qatar and other Gulf nations, but Bin Hammam was adamant the tournament would be hosted solely by the tiny Arab nation.

“Qatar submitted a bid to organise the World Cup and it’s fair for Qatar to organise all the matches,” Bin Hammam said.

“It’s never actually been discussed inside the executive committee or outside the executive committee that some of the matches are going to be played outside the host nation.”

“I always believed Qatar can host a very good World Cup. It is an opportunity for those who had less confidence in Qatar’s capability to organize a World Cup to see with their own eyes, what can be done and what cannot be done.”

“We are proud of our infrastructure, our football infrastructure, and we can keep the promises we made in our bid.”

Bin Hammam said the experience of hosting the 2011 Asian Cup would be a valuable experience for the Qatari organising committee.

“Of course some lessons have been learnt (from hosting the AFC Asian Cup). Qatar has been excellent in organisation but this will add to their experience,” Bin Hammam said.

“Qatar has been organising tournaments for a long time. What is good is they don’t hesitate to engage any professional who can get the job done. They can do a lot from what they have learnt.”

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“We told the people of the world to come and feel how comfortable a World Cup organised in a small country can be.”

“We were organising two matches a day, and we have seen how comfortable watching two matches in a day in the same city, the same hotel, driving in the same car.”

The Premier League has proposed a rule, which has been agreed to by clubs, which will have the effect of freezing out hostile shareholders like Arsenal’s Alisher Usmanov, reports The Telegraph.

Coupled with his business partner Farhad Moshiri the duo own a combined stake of 29.72 per cent in the club through their investment vehicle,  ‘Red and White Securities’.

This puts them close to the 30% threshold that under current Premier League regulations would grant them the rights and responsibilities of club directors, allowing Usmaov access to all ‘material transactions’ such as records of transfer dealings as well as wage and agent expenses.

The Russian’s lawyers were set to argue that their client needed to view these records in order to maintain achieve satisfaction over their correctness. However, Arsenal can now deny Usmanov access to their data following the rule change that has been voted in by Premier League clubs.

A source with an understanding of the situation told The Telegraph: “The rule left clubs open to the possibility of a hostile shareholder who is not on the board getting access to the books.

“Now if you are not on the board but have between 30 and 50 per cent of a club you don’t need to sign off on material-transaction reports.”

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Red and White Securities refused to comment but it remains to be seen whether the new regulation will effect Usmanov’s investment strategy within the club. If he chooses to withdraw then it is likely that share price will fall, enabling supporters of the club and the Arsenal Supporters Trust to purchase shares at a more reasonable price.

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Tottenham are lining up a sensational deal to bring Bobby Zamora back to White Hart Lane with the Metro reporting that Peter Crouch could be used in a swap.

Harry Redknapp is in the hunt for a new striker is a known admirer of the Fulham hitman.

It is thought Martin Jol would be reluctant to sell his top marksman without having a replacement lined up and Redknapp thinks throwing Crouch into the mix could make the deal a possibility.

Both players are 30-years-old and members of the England squad although Crouch has significantly more caps and experience than Zamora.

However Spurs boss Redknapp see’s the Fulham hitman as a more potent goal scoring threat than Crouch who, despite scoring crucial Champions League goals, managed only four strikes in the league last year.

If the move were to go through it would cap a remarkable turnaround for Zamora who has revitalised his career at Craven Cottage.

He originally signed for Spurs at the start of the 2003/04 season but failed to score in his 16 games before being sold to West Ham and then to Fulham.

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His performances for the Cottagers catapulted him into the England squad last year and now Redknapp is prepared to bring him back to Tottenham.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has hit out at Gerard Houllier in relation to Aston Villa’s signing of Darren Bent.

The Black Cats will face Blackpool at Bloomfield Road this weekend without the club’s former record signing, who joined Houllier’s Aston Villa this week in a 24-million-pound deal.

Bruce admitted to being devastated to lose his leading goalscorer so abruptly, and was furious about the way the deal was done.

“I would have liked even a phone call from Mr Houllier, for whom I did have the utmost respect for what he’s done,” Bruce said.

“I would have thought that, out of respect, maybe he would have picked up the telephone to say, ‘We are interested in buying your striker’.”

“That at least would have given me an opportunity to try to do something about it.”

Nevertheless, Bruce believes even without Bent and the injured Danny Welbeck, Sunderland can gain revenge over Blackpool for their fortuitous victory at the Stadium of Light last month.

“Losing Darren this week is a massive blow for us, of course it is, but how much it is going to affect us this weekend is difficult to tell – hopefully not at all,” said Bruce.

“When we played Blackpool last month with three strikers in the line-up, we didn’t score at all.”

“So maybe there’s something to be said about the balance of the team and if we play with only one striker this weekend in Asamoah Gyan, there’s every chance it will work for us.”

Bruce is still working hard in the transfer market to strengthen his attacking options, with Stoke City’s Ricardo Fuller the most likely signing as things stand.

But for the moment Bruce is focusing on Blackpool and a mission to avenge a result which stands out as something of a statistical fluke.

“We lost 2-0 to Blackpool last month – our only league defeat at the Stadium of Light so far this season.”

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“But how we lost it I’ll never know.”

“We had more than 30 shots at goal in that game and I think there’s only once in a Premier League game – a game that Arsenal were involved in – where a team has had that many shots and not scored.

“I’ll settle for half as many chances this weekend because it’s something of a fluke not to score from that many opportunities.”

“The players have been disappointed by Darren’s departure but footballers are a thick-skinned lot and they move on quickly.”

 Arsenal fans were pleasantly surprised with the singing of German Lukas Podolski from Koln before the 2011/12 season had even finished. Uncharacteristic of Arsene Wenger, the hope was that it was the start of a few signings, all of which were to be undertaken as soon as possible. The need to cement a strong squad together before the start of the season was something that escaped the Gunners last summer, and was for many, their downfall in a horrific to start to last season.

Hopes were dashed though, as no other additions were made to the Arsenal squad by the start of June, as players across the continent flocked to play for their respective countries in Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012. Arsene Wenger will no doubt now be watching closely to see who impresses at the tournament, having already been linked to a few names. We look through some of the talent Wenger is said to be interested, and why.

-Olivier Giroud (Centre Forward, Montpellier. £12-£15million)

The Montpellier front man recently announced he would not be deciding on his future until after the European championships. Having scored 21 goals in Ligue 1, Arsene Wenger will be interested in signing a prolific striker to complement new signing Lukas Podolski and Robin Van Persie should he renew his contract. With the French in the same group as England, Ukraine and Sweden, Wenger will be able to see how capable Giroud is against the likes of John Terry and Joleon Lescott as well as two other tough, physical opponents. At 33/1 to be top scorer, Giroud will look to impress when he does feature, as it is likely he will play second fiddle to Karim Benzema.

-Yann M’Villa (Defensive Midfielder, Rennes, £18-£20million)

Subject to significant speculation from both Arsenal and Barcelona, it is no surprise that Rennes have upped the asking price for their 21 year old holding midfielder to as high as £20million. Playing in the same French team as Olivier Giroud, Wenger will be examining the performances of M’Villa closely. With the marauding forward of Alex Song costing Arsenal at times last season, it will be no surprise that Wenger looks to M’Villa to provide defensive stability. The physical 21 year old is not afraid to get stuck in, and will be eager to return to fitness and impress having sprained his ankle in a warm up game against Serbia.

-Alan Dzagoev (Attacking Midfielder, CSKA Moscow, undisclosed)

The Russian attacking midfielder is said to be a replacement for fellow countryman Andrei Arshavin, who Zenit are looking to sign permanently having impressed on a loan spell. The 21 year old has been dubbed by Arshavin himself as one of Russia’s best young players, and a move to North London from CSKA Moscow will excel his career. Wenger will be looking for a creative player in midfield as last season saw Arshavin feature below standard, and Yossi Benayoun has returned to Chelsea on loan. Having already scored 2 goals in an opening Group A game against Czech Republic, Dzagoev will be hoping his form in front of goal continues to catch Wenger’s eye and bring a move to the Emirates.

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Whether or not these players will be wearing an Arsenal shirt come August remains to be seen. But Arsene Wenger can use the European Championships to scout some of the finest and most promising footballing talent the continent has to offer. If Arsenal are to clearout the underperformers, the introduction of these three would be the kind of quality players’ fans will be eager to replace them with.

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Yokohama F Marinos are the new leaders on the J.League table following a 1-1 draw at Omiya Ardija on Sunday.The three-time league champions needed just a point from their trip to Omiya Park to ascend to the top after long-time leaders Kashima Reysol lost on Saturday.

Their progress seemed all but assured after a bright start was capped by 18-year-old attacker Yuji Ono’s goal in the 37th minute.

Ono, a fledging Japan Under-23 international, had not scored since a brace against Avispa Fukuoka in May.

Omiya improved as the game wore on and eventually evened the ledger in the 74th minute through Rafael, the Brazilian import finding the net for the fourth time this season.

But Yokohama held firm until the final whistle to replace Kashiwa at the top of the table on goal difference. Both clubs have 34 points from 17 games.

Elsewhere, Nagoya Grampus continued to improve with a 2-0 win at Montedio Yamagata.

Usual suspects Keiji Tamada (43) and Josh Kennedy (57) scored in either half to lift Nagoya to their third straight win, one that sees the reigning champions replace Kawasaki Frontale in third.

Tamada has scored nine goals this campaign, joining Gamba Osaka striker Adriano and Ventforet Kofu’s Mike Havenaar at the top of the scorers’ table.

Australia international Kennedy has added eight for Nagoya.

In other results, Kashima Antlers rose to 10th on the table with a 3-0 thumping of Vegalta Sendai.

Chikashi Masuda (13) and Takuya Nozawa (18) stunned the visitors with back-to-back goals inside the first 20 minutes. Yuzo Tashiro (69) sealed the game in the second half.

Urawa Red Diamonds’ uneven start to the domestic campaign continued with a 1-1 draw at Jubilo Iwata.

Urawa looked to have secured the three points as they entered injury time up 1-0 on Yosuke Kashiwagi’s 29th-minute strike.

But the visitors conceded a penalty in the final moments to Japan international Ryoichi Maeda, who gleefully converted to snatch a share of the points for Iwata.

It wasn’t too long ago that the greatest threat to ‘big fours’ monopoly on the Premier League came from the likes of Aston Villa and Everton. Both sides had gifted managers, acquired some great players for nominal fees and they really got the fans believing. How times have changed. The emergence of Manchester City and Tottenham have not only blown the title race wide open, but also the likes of Villa and Everton out of the water as far as competing for trophies is concerned.

Whilst watching the Tottenham Chelsea game at the weekend, a friend of mine, who is a Villa fan, confessed to his newly found hatred of Spurs which is all a result of jealously. A couple of seasons ago, many predicted big things from Martin O’Neill’s side, they even made the League Cup final last season. But that all seems a distant memory if you compare it to where the club stand today. Through little fault of their own, they have been pushed aside by clubs with more financial clout and find themselves in a position where their best players become poached; drawn to bigger clubs with the attraction of European football and massive pay increases. Just look at Gareth Barry and James Milner.

Even more frustrating for Villa fans is that, with the new wave of youngsters coming through, the added experience and quality of the likes of Milner and Barry could have really have brought something special to Villa Park. But now instead of worrying if their side really do have enough in them to push for a place in the top four, the biggest concern has to be which next best thing to come out of the Villa academy is going to end up at City?

Similarly, Everton have found themselves unable to continue to punch above their weight as clubs who surround them, or used to, have now improved beyond the capabilities of the Merseyside club. In their defence, chairman Bill Kenwright has been trying to sell for a long time as he knew he could no longer rival the finances of the teams they are trying to match, but unfortunately, his noble quest to find the right man for the club has left Everton falling further behind.

David Moyes has unquestionable done a remarkable job with little resources. His ability to spot a star player from the lower leagues has enabled him to build the foundations of a good side. But a good side is no longer good enough. Everton have also recently found themselves suffering from the same cruel occupational hazard Villa have done. Remember Joleon Lescott?

Both teams currently sit next to each other in the Premier League in unfamiliarly low places. Everton are hovering two points above the drop zone in 15th whilst Villa are a further two in front in 14th. Obviously misleading as neither side should finish in the bottom half of the table, they have too much quality for that, but as we approach the half way stage of the season, it does point to an alarmingly disappointing fall from grace.

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Whilst you consider their current standings, take a think back to the game at Villa Park between the two sides in April of last year. It finished 3-3, to the disappointment of both sides, as they were both still in the hunt of a fourth place finish. Also worth a mention – James Milner won the man of the match award for a stunning midfield display. Go back even further to the epic encounter in 2008 where Ashley Young scored a dramatic winner with seconds to go in a 3-2 win at Goodison Park. These games proved the quality of both sides and announced them to stage of the Premier League’s big guns.

Fast-forward to the present day and fans of both sides have massive causes for concern. If history repeats itself and more exciting young players decide to up-sticks and leave to pursue dreams of playing Champions League football, the days of Everton and Aston Villa as successful clubs could be over before it got going.

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We all thought we must have seen it all when Michael Thomas last gasp winner secured the title for Arsenal back in 1989; however scenes at the Etihad Stadium have simply gazumped that as two goals in injury time saw Manchester City take the points with a 3-2 win that sees them land their first Premier League title, in what will be arguably the first of many for the Citizens.

It was simply a dramatic afternoon and even before the 4th official put his board up to show 5 minutes of injury time it appeared they had handed their great rivals a 20th League title, as City appeared to have run out of huff and puff after 90mins of being camped pretty much in Queens Park Rangers’ half. Manchester United thought they had won it as the seconds were running out at the Stadium of Light and the players were all on the pitch waiting, until news filtered through from the Etihad of Sergio Aguero’s last gasp strike.

Roberto Mancini, the players and the fans were clearly emotional at the final whistle and rightly so after a gruelling 38 games that has seen them lift the trophy on what has proved to be goal difference. Sir Alex Ferguson was very gracious at the end of United’s game against Sunderland and wanted to offer his congratulations to their great rivals on their title success. Mancini felt that the best team in England had deservedly won the Premier League this year and believes that there will be one hell of a party in the Blue side of Manchester tonight.

How are Manchester City fans feeling at this moment – HAVE YOUR SAY!

Colombia manager Hernan Dario Gomez believes he will ‘go crazy’ if he worries too much about Argentina ahead of their Copa America meeting.Along with Chile, Colombia are one of just two nations to taste victory after the first round of matches, with short-priced favourites Brazil and Argentina held to frustrating draws by Venezuela and Bolivia respectively.

Hosts Argentina possess an array of attacking talent but could not score more than once as they came from a goal down against Bolivia, while Colombia edged Costa Rica 1-0 after the Central American nation had a player sent off in the first half.

At a press conference in Santa Fe on Tuesday, Gomez needed little reminding at what his defence would face at the Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez.

“Out of respect, I base myself on an improvement in my team because if I start thinking about Argentina I’ll go crazy. How do I mark Messi, (Carlos) Tevez, (Sergio) Aguero, (Angel) Di Maria?” he said.

“I don’t know how to mark Messi. It’s very difficult. What we do have are support lines, back-up, work we can put into action.”

Argentina manager Sergio Batista bore the disappointment of an expectant nation following the Group A draw with Bolivia on Friday.

Against the 2001 Copa America champions – who boast their own attacking talents in Radamel Falcao, Hugo Rodallega and Fredy Guarin – Batista wants his side to show more composure in their second match.

“The national team always has pressure, the more so now with the obligation of winning after the draw,” he said.

“Messi had a good first half but when we gets disorganised maybe he gets lost.”

“Even if we’d won, there were things that needed correcting and working on. That concerned me. We didn’t play the way we had in friendlies.”