Chelsea's midfielder Michael Essien will not be playing for a long time due to severe injury - a ruptured ligament. The 25-year old picked up the injury during Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Libya on Friday. The midfielder ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament and is expected to be out for 5 months or more.
A Chelsea statement says: "Michael has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week's time.
"In the meantime, Michael has started rehab in the aqua therapy centre at Cobham which will improve the condition of the knee prior to surgery. A return to full fitness is not expected for several months."
Former World Cup runner-up France was humiliated by Austria as they were defeated 3 goals to 1 in a World Cup qualifying match yesterday. Austria had already taken the lead in the 8th minute through Janko, while Aufhauser scored the second just before the break. The far more superior France had an equalizer thanks to Govou's goal, but eventually Ivanschitz sealed the game through a penalty to make it 3-1.
Team Engalnd started their World Cup qualifying campaign yesterday with a 2-0 victory over Andora - thanks to Joe Cole. England dominated the whole 90 minutes but had failed to break down Andora's defense as they were booed off at half-time. Cole stepped in the pitch just after the break and knocked in a Frank Lampard free-kick on the 49th minute, and managed to convert Wayne Rooney's pass to his second, six minutes later.
But manager Capello was not satisfied as team England faced difficulties to score even when their oppenent is more than 180 places below them in the world ranking. The Italian, later on, stated that he was upset with Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney, as the two were lurking too much at midfield instead of going forward in order to support Heskey, the striker. But overall, he liked Joe Cole's performance which had made a big impact.
Thanks to Abu Dhabi United Group, Manchester City had suddenly become a club which can afford almost any player in the world. A buyout happened in August 2008 marked the end of former Thailand minister Thaksin Shinawatra's ownership for two years, and also a new era for City. Manchester City's new boss, Sulaiman Al-Fahim shocked the football indutry with the signing of Brazillain star Robhino from Real Madrid for a record fee of $32.5 million Pounds, just hours after the transfer of ownership.
And that was not the end of it. Just Few days ago multi-billionaire Al-Fahim bragged announced his plan to re-construct Man City squad to become the most fearful football team on Earth. The first player he would love to have in the lineup would be none other than Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the world's best player currently. The United winger is estimated to worth around $184 million Pounds. Other world-class players whom Al-Fahim desires to have in his dream lineup, include Lionel Messi from Barcelona ($80 million), playmaker Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal ($60 million), Kaka of AC Milan ($80 million), Fernando Torres of Liverpool ($70 million), as well as fellow rival United's new signing Dimitar Berbatov ($60 million). With that much money to be spent, it sure makes Roman Abramovic look like a penniless vagrant..
Moreover, there are speculations which reveal that the proclaimed "New Abramovic of EPL" has also had his drools over other classy players like David Villa, Mario Gomez, Van Nestelrooy and so on..
It's virtually impossible to have all those fancy players in one squad, especially when 6 out of 11 of them would have cost him $500 million Pounds! Furthermore we only need one player for each position at a time, which means that somebody will have to sit on the bench - not sure if top footballers like Messi who plays 90 minutes almost every game would be okay with that.
Dimitar Berbatov became Manchester United's latest signing after being transferred from Tottenham for $30.75 million pounds on Tuesday. The other part of the deal involves United youngster Fraizer Campbell, who was sent to White Hart Lane in exchange. 27-year old Berbatov sgreed with a four-year contract with his new club, just before the transfer window was closed. Source: soccernews
Manchester City brought in Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid today for a record transfer fee of around £32.5m. BPL giants Chelsea was also greatly interested in signing the 24-year old but was beaten by City as they could not agree with the price Real asked for. Robinho had previously spoken his intention to leave Spain in a news conference earlier on Sunday. "I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho,"City manager Mark Hughes expressed his excitment. Source: BBC Sports
Tottenham Hotspurs avoided a three-game losing streak by forcing a draw at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Juliano Belleti sliced in a corner kick to give Chelsea the lead in the 28th minute, but Darren Bent equalised just before half-time. The home team's winning streak halted at 2, while Tottenham finally earned their first point in BPL. Source: BBC
Tottenham Hotspurs have finally landed Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko for a transfer fee of £14m. The 26-year old was signed from Russian club Spartak Moscow. According to Pavlyuchenko himself, he was first at doubt wether to come to England or not. "The only thing that stopped me from leaving was my family. But now all doubts are behind me and I decided to sign a contract with Tottenham."Pavlyuchenko was Russia's tops scorer during their Euro08 campaign, scoring a total of three goals and helping the national team to march to the semi-finals. Source: BBC Sport
Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma bid farewell to Porta yesterday as he signed with his new club Inter Milan. The Italian club is reported to have offered Quaresma a four-year contract worth 3 million euros per year while the transfer fee was around 20 million euros. Source: soccernews
Milan fans may just be able to see Andriy Shevchenko in the club's red and black striped jersey again. The 31-year old striker has been confirmed to be making a homecoming to former club AC Milan, with an undisclosed fees. The Ukrainian, during his glorious days with the Italian club, scored 127 goals in 208 Serie A matches. "We have brought home the player who scored more goals than any other in our shirt over the last 50 years," Milan director Adriano Galliani said. On the other hand Shevchenko himself said the move felt as good as winning the UEFA Champions League. Source: UEFA
Chelsea's midfielder Michael Essien will not be playing for a long time due to severe injury - a ruptured ligament. The 25-year old picked up the injury during Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Libya on Friday. The midfielder ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament and is expected to be out for 5 months or more.
Team Engalnd started their World Cup qualifying campaign yesterday with a 2-0 victory over Andora - thanks to Joe Cole. England dominated the whole 90 minutes but had failed to break down Andora's defense as they were booed off at half-time. Cole stepped in the pitch just after the break and knocked in a Frank Lampard free-kick on the 49th minute, and managed to convert Wayne Rooney's pass to his second, six minutes later. 
Thanks to Abu Dhabi United Group, Manchester City had suddenly become a club which can afford almost any player in the world. A buyout happened in August 2008 marked the end of former Thailand minister Thaksin Shinawatra's ownership for two years, and also a new era for City. Manchester City's new boss, Sulaiman Al-Fahim shocked the football indutry with the signing of Brazillain star Robhino from Real Madrid for a record fee of $32.5 million Pounds, just hours after the transfer of ownership. 
Dimitar Berbatov became Manchester United's latest signing after being transferred from Tottenham for $30.75 million pounds on Tuesday. The other part of the deal involves United youngster Fraizer Campbell, who was sent to White Hart Lane in exchange. 27-year old Berbatov sgreed with a four-year contract with his new club, just before the transfer window was closed.
Manchester City brought in Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid today for a record transfer fee of around £32.5m. BPL giants Chelsea was also greatly interested in signing the 24-year old but was beaten by City as they could not agree with the price Real asked for. Robinho had previously spoken his intention to leave Spain in a news conference earlier on Sunday. "I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho,"City manager Mark Hughes expressed his excitment. 
Tottenham Hotspurs avoided a three-game losing streak by forcing a draw at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Juliano Belleti sliced in a corner kick to give Chelsea the lead in the 28th minute, but Darren Bent equalised just before half-time. The home team's winning streak halted at 2, while Tottenham finally earned their first point in BPL.
Tottenham Hotspurs have finally landed Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko for a transfer fee of £14m. The 26-year old was signed from Russian club Spartak Moscow. According to Pavlyuchenko himself, he was first at doubt wether to come to England or not. "The only thing that stopped me from leaving was my family. But now all doubts are behind me and I decided to sign a contract with Tottenham."Pavlyuchenko was Russia's tops scorer during their Euro08 campaign, scoring a total of three goals and helping the national team to march to the semi-finals.
Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma bid farewell to Porta yesterday as he signed with his new club Inter Milan. The Italian club is reported to have offered Quaresma a four-year contract worth 3 million euros per year while the transfer fee was around 20 million euros. 
Milan fans may just be able to see Andriy Shevchenko in the club's red and black striped jersey again. The 31-year old striker has been confirmed to be making a homecoming to former club AC Milan, with an undisclosed fees. The Ukrainian, during his glorious days with the Italian club, scored 127 goals in 208 Serie A matches. "We have brought home the player who scored more goals than any other in our shirt over the last 50 years," Milan director Adriano Galliani said. On the other hand Shevchenko himself said the move felt as good as winning the UEFA Champions League.
